____________________________ | | /)| KRISTEN'S BOOKSHELF |(\ / )| DIRECTORIES |( \ __( (|____________________________|) )__ ((( \ \ > /_) ( \ < / / ))) (\\\ \ \_/ / \ \_/ / ///) \ / \ / \ _/ \_ / / / \ \ o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o The 'Bookshelf collection' offers a very wide variety of o o stories. They have been submitted by people from all over the o o world. Also from alt.sex.stories (Newsgroups). There is no o o particular order other than offering them to you in alpha- o o betical directories. o o I don’t believe in categorizing things. "I don’t want to o o be typed therefore I don’t type things myself." I think it’s o o a lot more fun to browse around and find 'little' surprises o o that you might not have even thought of looking for. o o Lest we forget!!! This story was produced as adult en- o o tertainment and should not be read by minors. Kristen o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Closer Encounters (MF, si-fi) by Brian Foster (c) 1995 Based on "Alien" and "Aliens" Three dreamers, and one to whom dreaming was an abstract theory, rested in individual protective cocoons within the heavy military transport, Sulaco, hurtling through space on its return path to Earth. An observer on the control deck would have seen only the brightest stars through the ghostly blue corona surrounding the ship, emitted as a byproduct of the Hyperdrive unit. Occasionally a star came close enough that appreciable movement in its position could be seen in a few minutes at the speed they were travelling. This was a far cry from the way the very first interstellar settlers had departed Earth, in slow-moving spaceborne cities knowing they wouldn't live to see their chosen world. Their Children or even Grandchildren would finally arrive and start a life initially no better than that they had left. The discovery of Hyperdrive techniques reduced the once interminable voyage to a few months, and Hypersleep reduced this further, to a few minutes of dreams. The floating cities were evacuated barely a decade after departure, and left to drift as they weren't economic to upgrade. The technology surrounding the dreamers was the last thing on their minds. The thoughts of all three were very similar, even if their philosophies weren't. A mixture of relief at escape from raw horror, sadness, anger at the unnecessary deaths of friends, and apprehension for the future. The last thing that went through Ripleys mind before enforced sleep overtook her was that a formal inquiry awaited them when they got back, her second, and this time the facts couldn't be papered over. Those smug Interstellar Company heads who had presided over her sham hearing couldn't cover this one so easily. They weren't talking about a few freighter jockeys with few or no family ties to Earth this time, it was all except two of an entire colony and a squad of troopers. All recorded in full color by the Sulacos automatic recorders, with three other undeniable witnesses to back her up in case the tapes were "erased". Newts thoughts were of her lost family and friends. She hoped that Ripley and not her never-seen relatives on Earth could adopt her. Occasionally her peaceful expression in the Hypersleep chamber became tense at flashbacks of the losing battle by her Colony against the Aliens, followed by weeks of utmost silence to keep the nightmare away. She also had a measure of guilt to contend with... Hicks, ever the soldier, was predictably thinking of his next posting. His Corporals badge would matter little to the battle-hardened hombres he would be slotted into. He would have to pierce their initial distrust of the newcomer in their midst with hard work and action to earn their respect, the way he had with Apone, Vasquez, Drake, Hudson "the loudmouth" and the others, now all dead. Dead in action, as they'd all been prepared to go. But under the command of a freshman with a single combat mission under his belt, a Lieutenant at that, who froze at the crunch. Where the hell did an inexperienced Lieutenant come from in this Mercenary army? Something stank. He had the feeling they'd been fed to those goddamned... Things! For live specimens, as Burke had tried with Newt and Ripley? Gormans proper course of action would have been to order the return of their ammunition and an immediate withdrawal the moment the first part of Ripleys hitherto unbelieved story was vindicated. Not that taking their ammo had been necessary in the first place. A "make safe all weapons, no firing unless attacked" order would have been adequate. Instead, he had chosen to insult their combat-proven ability. Money over Men? Preserve the station at all costs? Perhaps his seeming ignorance was more like following company policy to the letter. A soldier NEVER officially questions a superior's worthiness of his rank, but he wasn't going to rest on this one. He had a measure of rage to work out as soon as he was able. For now, sluggish dreams, each moment dragging out for minutes of real time while the Ship monitored itself and its fragile occupants. Several weeks after departing Acheron orbit, an undistinguished yellow star appeared directly ahead. This one didn't move aside when the ship approached, it stayed there, glowing brighter by the minute. Abruptly the blue hyperdrive corona switched off, leaving the ship almost stationary about 2 solar system radii away. Immediately the main drive activated to continue the approach to Earth at a more manageable pace, while the Sulaco began transmitting its status and that of its occupants to the bored Gateway station traffic controllers and customs people. And several very expectant company officials... Ripleys first action on waking was to check the ship status panel opposite. A prominent green light showed instead of the half-expected yellow security light. Good, no unexpected surprises to contend with this time. They were home. She could pick up her promised Flight Officers certification and contract and be back plying the freightways. Or she could remain on Gateway with her new job and raise Newt as her own. Either way, she'd stay out of the Companys hair so long as they didn't tread on her toes. She'd seen enough Company property destroyed lately to satisfy her thirst for revenge, and the coming inquiry would throw a permanent little spanner in their works. Ripley detached herself from the Hypersleep monitors and stepped out of the protective cocoon. Whether occupied or not, all had opened to release their waking occupants. She tried to ignore the line of empty sarcophogii that should have held Hick's vaporized soldiers as she helped Newt out. "Wakey wakey, honey. We're home." "Mommy?" "Yes, Newt. Time to get up." "At Earth?" "Uh, huh." "Whats Earth like? My parents told me they left because there were too many people and it smelled too bad." "That used to be true, but it's been cleaned up in the last few years. A lot of people have left to colonies, like your parents did." And that was the first good thing the company ever did, she mused. They made their money though. The healthiest people were targeted by advertising encouraging them to move to the colonies. A sizable portion of the population voluntarily did so to escape the mess, and unwittingly help expand the Companys empire. In return they strip-mined large parts of the planet to extract every rock of viable mineral they could find, planted trees over the holes and pretended they were Earths saviours. What a joke. The Gaia theorists reckoned Earths environment had been about to select against mankind, when the Company scientists saw it coming and acted to save their own skins. "Do you have a family, down there?" "A long time ago, yes. I had a daughter about your age." Ripley looked sad at the memory. She left her 11 year old daughter, Amy, promising to return for her 12th Birthday. Instead, she died of old age two years before Ripley was picked up by a range spanner at the edge of explored space. "Did you lose your family, the way I did?" "I suppose you could say I did. I'll tell you about it another time." When the wounds were better healed, she thought. Newt still looked like she was carrying half of Archerons dirt on her clothing and body. Brown hair, brown eyes on a fragile looking 11 year old frame looked back at her from the capsule. Hidden within was enough strength to survive much worse than she had. Kids have an amazing ability to recover and deal with bad memories, given time and patience. Hopefully she wouldn't be plagued by the nightmare, as she had. Bishop had shut down all nonessential systems to prevent his remaining vital fluids escaping from the massive wound he'd sustained. She'd let the tech boys take care of him, there was nothing she could do. Ripley paused to admire Hicks. Sleep smoothed the hardened features and robbed him of his tough Marine outlook, turning him into the handsome young man he was. For a moment he reminded her of another young man in another time, before she shook off the memory. Did he have a lady awaiting his return somewhere? If there was, she was a very very lucky Woman, she thought. Ripley and Newt showered together before Ripley scrounged some food for the two of them from the automatic dispensers. Yuk - military food - she felt that every joke she'd ever heard about it was true. Maybe even the rumours about bromides. Newt didn't grizzle, she'd survived on little more than raw vitamins during her nightmare sojourn in the bowels of the Colony. The two of them strode to the Control deck to watch the final approach to Earth and the docking procedures. Newt was spellbound by her first sight of Earth looming up ahead. The blue-brown globe was about a quarter full as the Sulaco approached under its own power and guidance. Even with 60 years evolution in Starship controls, Ripley had recognized enough to set the Sulaco on her return journey and bring her in on automatic. All she had to do was allow the station computer to guide her in. On Gateway station, one of the two traffic controllers had just come on duty when the Sulaco appeared on monitor. Their job was largely Automatic, checking remote sensor reports of activity around the system and alerting Customs to irregularities. They considered themselves almost outdated, and might have been insulted if they had known how true this was. As it was, they sometimes barely managed to come up with enough paperwork and reports to convince management of the need for their job. The argument that Human backup was needed won the day whenever the job came up for review, but that wasn't likely to last forever. Shortly the Sulaco's automatic report arrived. Alice checked it against the expected one, and gave a low whistle of disbelief. Eleven missing crew - wow! There'd be some good gossip today. The normal procedure was to return military dead to Earth for burial in hibernation to prevent further decay. That way inquisitive station controllers couldn't tell the status of the crew. Colonial army death rates were classified documents. She had just reported the discrepancy when the two men walked uninvited into the cubicle behind her. "How long until the Sulaco arrives?", an Authoritive voice asked. She turned to inspect the newcomers. Two men in neatly pressed suits disdainfully regarded her, a little like how scientist examines an insect, she felt. "Thirty minutes.... Do you have permission to be here? This is a restricted area." "We're with Company administration. Is that enough for you?" The second newcomer strode over to inspect the Electronic report. "Eleven missing, nothing on the condition of the rest." The first intruder thought that over, then came to a decision. "Bring that ship to a halt 10 kilometers away. Do not, I repeat, do not, allow a boarding party to enter it, and open a communication line." "This is highly irregular, can I ask why?", she replied. "Official company business. If it concerns you, you'll find out about it. Now... would you two Ladies step outside for a minute, please?" "Sir, It's a major breach of regs to leave ship control unattend...." "I said 'please'. May I remind you that the Company is paying your wages? Kindly leave the room." They recognized a direct order when they heard one. The door closed behind them, making a soundproof seal. "That guy has a very big carrot up his arse" Josie said to Alice. Alice quietly agreed, and joined her friend in regarding the corridor. Newt, always the quick one, noticed the pulsing Red "APPROACH HELD" light appear before Ripley did. "Ripley, what does this mean?", she asked. "Someones held us up." She frowned, unable to think of any reason to do so. There wasn't any emergency nearby, and no other ship within a thousand kilometers. Static crackled for a moment as a comm screen activated on reception of the incoming signal. Blackness, then the face swung into view. Now what? "Ripley...." he recognized her. She'd never seen him before. "Do you or any of the other three have a.... medical condition?" "Is that why you stopped us?" She looked incredulous. "Thats for Customs..." "Just answer the question, thank you." What the dickens was going on? This dickhead wasn't anything to do with traffic control... The Company! "No, we don't have a sample of your fucking Alien! You can tell your boss that the Colony, the Alien ship, everything was destroyed along with your precious samples. I'll see you at the Inquiry, and I'm going to see your precious Companys ass fry! You hear me!" For a timeless moment, outraged and shaking Ripley and a wide eyed official stared into each others eyes, before he pulled the plug without another word. The two strangers left the cubicle and swept past the bemused controllers waiting outside, who shortly released the Sulaco to complete its docking. They were long gone by the time the Ship arrived. * * * * * * Hicks awoke in the Hospital with a start. The movement brought back the searing pain of multiple acid burns on his forehead and Chest. All he could see was a few Biomonitor instrument lights and a moving, dimly lit cloud deck outside the viewport. His first thought was that he had been left behind in the dark tunnels of Archeron, then he realised he was in a bed. The clouds were hundreds of kilometers below the orbiting station. As he watched, a lightning flash momentarily illuminated a portion of the distant cloud bank. As his eyes adjusted to the dark he made out details of the room. A water purifier, a dripfeed hanger (thankfully not in use, he hated injections), his personal effects neatly hung in the tiny wardrobe, the dimly lit Nurse pager. He was still groggy from Bishops much needed painkiller injection. The aftereffects would leave him shortly, not that he was in much condition to move in any case. Like any Colonial soldier, he wouldn't readily admit to needing rest. A day or two with a lovely Nurse for company wasn't above his pride however, and he needed time to collect his thoughts. For now, time to rest. The last thing he saw before the first natural sleep in months was the spiderlike lights of a city starting to roll past the window. Another time, another place. Another dark room. He was inspecting the brand new Corporals stripe officially awarded a few hours before they were let loose on Arcturius for a few days furlough. It was no extra weight, but it was gold to him. Not that he really needed it with his fellow soldiers, he'd earned their respect by always being in the right spot when needed. He'd saved two of their lives in tight spots through no fault of their own, so he'd been proud enough not to tell anyone. But the camera relay captured it all as always, and he'd had to suffer the indignity of seeing his name in the next official dispatch. He undressed and neatly hung up the uniform before putting on the casual off duty attire. Tomorrow he'd see the sights of the town with the other troopers, and rage it up with the women who gravitated towards military uniforms. Arcturius was an unofficial military R&R planet, full of all the goodies off-duty soldiers headed for the moment their fat paychecks and rare slack time arrived. The resulting wild scenes often went down in folklore, to be told and retold (and altered) until they were unrecognizable to those responsible when they returned. The initial survey ships to Arcturius had found a planet with an atmosphere and climate close to that of Earth. No intelligent native species or particularly nasty alien disease was found so the world was readily colonised. Biologists and Zoologists swarmed over the planet for years, studying and classifying its works of evolution. As always on new Worlds, curiosities were found. Like the tree officially named 'Agathis Australis' after the most similar Earthbound tree, whose tissue most closely resembled that of muscle. It seemed not to be attacked by any insect whatsoever, and its wood proved very tough and weather resistant, hence ideal for building materials. The Biologists labeled it 'odd' and promptly forgot about it. It was a farmer who grew a line of them for use as a fenceline who discovered its most remarkable property. A fence whose supports were hammered into the tree was flat on the ground in the morning. Intrigued, the farmer found the trees had literally spat out the nails and healed overnight, leaving barely a trace. Biologists quickly discovered that tissue movement forced out anything that penetrated, explaining its resistance to insect attack. Promptly someone thought of drilling a hole into it and inserting his paddywhacker, becoming the first to experience the sensations of the 'Pussy tree', as it became known. For a while it was an initiation rite for some soldiers to bring the newest member of their unit to a suitable specimen. Hicks was lucky, his unit had given up this embarrassing practice long before he signed on the dotted line. He was musing over this and other curiosities of Arcturius, when the diffident knocking on the door took him by surprise. Who was it at this time of night? "Yes?" "Room service. The drinks you ordered, Sir." What drinks? He hadn't ordered any. Whose idea of a joke was this? He opened the door to sort the problem out. Eight very familiar faces stared back. "You didn't think we were going to let you spend your first night as a Corporal alone, did you?", said Drake. They laughed. He knew that laugh. "Gettim!" Eight pairs of strong arms took hold and half dragged, half carried him to the misappropriated Taxi waiting outside. The locals must hate Colonial marines, he thought. "It's party time! The whole towns gonna know we're here!" shouted an obviously half-drunk Hudson, to a chorus of whoops and yells. "Take us to the worst place in the city", said Drake. "Oh man, you don't wanna go there! No fare is worth going to that place!", said the nervous driver. "Don't worry, we'll leave you at the Checkpoint", he replied, holding up a fistful of Military scrip easily worth five times its face value on the local Black market. "Okay man, you got it", the driver said, looking a whole lot happier. A few minutes later they were at the yellow and black brightly lit barrier manned 24 hours by two armed, grim faced Military Policemen. Beyond was a poorly lit paved stone street. Movement and music was discernible ahead. They paid off the driver, who quickly disappeared the way he'd come. "Now, you boys aren't going in there, are you?", asked the more senior-looking MP of the approaching soldiers. "Surely we are, Sir", Hudson drawled back in his Southern accent as they trudged past. "Enter at your own risk", the MP simply replied. He didn't have time to argue with off duty Marines. He'd find out soon enough if they bit off more than they could chew in that place. Dimly visible figures regarded the little group that ventured into their area. Looking Mean and Evil was one thing some of the Soldiers practiced long and hard at, and consequently they were very good at it. None of the watchers ventured more than a look after them. Shortly they reached the better lit area and discretely sized up their surroundings. Loud music thumped from the entrances to obviously very seedy establishments along the street. Scantily clad women of all ages and appearances walked slowly and suggestively up and down their patch in pairs, a short distance apart from each other for safety. Some were discussing business with men. Several heavily drugged men and women were staggering around. Silhouetted by distant lights, another addict was openly injecting himself with his choice of Narcotic. Hawkers were pushing little sealed foil packets of drugs among the less reputable looking people around. "A Septic spot on the arse of this Planet", was all Wierzbowski had to say. "The tourist brochures choice." someone added. "Perfect for the three off-duty offences. Excessive drinking, brawling and sex", Drake replied. Crowe found what he was looking for. "Hey, Hudson, you're the one whos been saying he wanted some Arcturian Poontang. Well, try that girl over there." He indicated a slim, nice looking girl standing near an entranceway. Never one to refuse a dare, Hudson approached her and whispered something into her ear. She nodded. "Don't forget to sample the goods first!", Crowe called out. Hudson put his hand under the girls dress, and discovered..... a pair of Balls. A deafening peal of laughter issued forth from his fellow Soldiers as Hudson reeled back in shock. "Gotchyer!" Crowe howled back. "That wasn't funny, man!", he said as he stumbled back to the comparative safety of the squad, accompanied by a few last guffaws. "The Outlaw bar", Drake said, indicating a discreet entrance partway up the street. "The perfect place to initiate our new Corporal." The thunderous music nearly deafened the nine of them as they entered the most infamous stripjoint in this Red light area. "Entry is five credits tonight", the large Bouncer with the busted nose and no-nonsense expression gruffly said after quickly looking them up and down. They took up position near the elevated dance floor while the first round of drinks was ordered and delivered by a slim topless waitress, who seemed to ignore the almost continual handling of her Breasts by the patrons. Onstage was the regular parade of strippers, mostly bored looking, unsmiling young women. On every table was a small collection of vibrators and dildoes for use on the women when they finally ended up naked and wandered among the audience to sit briefly, legs spread, on each table in turn to be groped, probed and manhandled by the beaver-eager crowd. The Marines were above that sort of behaviour, but cheered on each girl who splayed herself on their table. The waitress accepted their invitation to sit and have a few drinks with them when she went off duty. As they watched, a man couldn't restrain himself any longer and whipped out his cock prior to screwing the girl on his table. Bad move. Two bouncers materialized and dragged him from sight. The nearer patrons fancied they could hear the blows and screams prior to ejecting him from the joint. A few of the Soldiers began a whispered dialogue with the Waitress while furtively glancing at Hicks. Soon she smiled and disappeared backstage for a minute. Hicks groaned when he saw the backstage curtains part a little as she pointed him out to someone. The next girl, a pretty Brunette with a nice tan and the stage name 'Danielle', came out and began her dance routine while two other ladies brought onstage a reclined chair like a psychiatrists couch, with a towel on it. Upon completion of the first part of her act she walked offstage, made a beeline directly for Hicks, and half-dragged him by the arm onto the stage to the cheers of the crowd. She lay back on the couch, legs spread wide for the audience, and handed Hicks what looked like a Hospital issue razor with a little protected electric trimmer. She didn't want him to do THAT, did she? He gulped. The crowd went wild when they realised what was coming. Some were almost in tears with jealousy. She turned to Hicks with instructions. "Go slow and gentle. Don't push it. Start at the top and work down." He turned it on and experimentally applied it to a few strands of the girls pubic hair. They came away without any fuss, leaving probably the smoothest after-shave skin he'd ever felt. The razor humming in his hand, he kneeled next to her and began shaving the girls hairy parts. White untanned skin was exposed as the strands of hair fell onto the towel. Careful not to miss any hairs, he worked his way across the Girls mound then down between her legs. The top of her slit became clearly visible, the dark skin contrasting against the now smooth white pubic triangle. He pushed the vagina lips aside with a finger before nuzzling in to catch every hair. This close, he could easily see the glistening pinkness within the Girls cunt. Judging from the obvious dampness, he guessed the gentle vibration was turning her on more than the probing fingers and vibrators she'd experienced so far this evening. Finally he finished, and the two of them stood to thunderous applause. Hicks rejoined his friends while the Girl did her obligatory tour of the premises to let everyone see his handiwork. About 1am they decided they had drunk and seen their fill for the evening, and were about to leave when the announcer came on again to proudly introduce "Their youngest attraction, the lovely Jasmine." The soldiers were intrigued. Why had they held her back until this late in the evening? They might as well wait a while longer. The overloaded sound system went wild with the next tune, as 'Jasmine' walked onstage. "Is this a joke?", Hicks wondered aloud. A ripple of excitement went through the crowd. Rough, sweaty hands took hold anew of the various probed instruments scattered around. The waitress sitting with them blanched and looked away. 'Jasmine' couldn't have been older than twelve. Shoulder length, almost black hair, no visible breasts through the T-shirt she was wearing. She hesitantly began a slow dance routine to the music and loud hooting from the crowd. Hicks spotted the nearly invisible earplug in the girls left ear. The little waif was receiving instructions via radio, he realised. Onstage, the Girl searched the Audience for a single friendly or familiar face. Not finding any, a tear rolled down her cheek at what was coming. She'd learned not to cry in the 3 days since being grabbed when she'd walked too close to this area. Crying invited laughter from the merciless crowd, and a beating afterwards. Surprise turned to shock, then sheer outrage in Hicks mind. He looked away to his friends, who were rapidly forming the same idea. "I'm not standing for this", he said quietly. Their faces told him he had the support he needed for what he was thinking about. It was time to earn his badge. One of the bunch of heavies crowded near the exit noticed the uncomfortable movements and expressions from the group of patrons near the stage. Their build and general demeanour throughout the evening marked them as Soldiers. He hated soldiers, they were the only real threat to their grip on the area. Threatening one was like lighting a fuse. Beat one up, and within an hour you could guarantee to have a hundred on your doorstep seeking retaliation. He signalled for the others to keep a close eye on them. "On my count - Drake, Wierzbowski - grab the girl. The rest, make weapons. We're leaving", Hicks ordered. Frost suggested to the waitress that now was a good time to leave. She turned slightly pale and hurried away. Onstage, the girl had received the next set of instructions from the unseen manager. Reluctantly she took hold of the white underwear and pulled them down, leaving her bottomless in front of hundreds of leering, expectant men. "One!" Another tear rolled down her cheek as the shouts and screams to "take the rest off" reverberated in her ears. "Two!" The girls eyes met those of the soldiers. The eyes spoke of concern and caring for her, something she didn't know existed any more. She stopped dancing for a moment before the earplug barked with the order to continue. "Three!" Two men sprang from the group and leapt onto the stage. They took hold of her by the arms. The girl screamed. With her weak strength, she tried to push them away. "It's okay!" one shouted over the din. "We're Soldiers. We're getting you out of here. Put your clothes on." Immediately they moved, the others stood up. Two took hold of the table in front of them and with one great heave broke the forward legs off for use as clubs. The collection of empty and part-full drinks on the table shattered onto the floor. The music stopped. Silence. What looked like a wall of toughs, fourty strong, advanced on the little group from the shadows. A few carried knives and clubs. "You guys aren't leaving here with OUR girl", the one who seemed to be the leader said. "Or your pay packets!", another added. The others laughed. So did the Marines. The onlookers got clear and averted their eyes. They didn't hear anything, and they absolutely goddamned didn't see anything.... A great howling broke out. The sounds of heavy blows raining down. Screams and yells filled the confined space. Something was wrong, one of the watchers decided. Where were the attempts to talk their way out, the resulting laughter, the attempt to escape before the inevitable bashing? He looked back to see what was happening. It took the patron several seconds to register that the Soldiers had attacked the mob, not the other way around. The battle didn't last long. Trained and experienced Close quarter combat specialists verses Street toughs. No match. By various ways and means, mostly extremely painful, the odds against the soldiers were quickly whittled down. Four forced Wierzbowski to his knees while a fifth prepared to start kicking him. Frosty stepped in with the Hammer he'd appropriated from another man before landing a Haymaker to shut him up. He swung it full force into one of the four standing mens kneecaps. The man collapsed howling, clutching his knee. The fight went out of the remainder after that. The thugs still standing considered the shrunken odds and retreated sharply. Spunkmeyer scooped up the girl from under the table where she'd ducked for protection and slung her over his shoulder as the group made a hasty exit before reinforcements arrived. Just in time. Men armed with a collection of weapons were pouring from side streets and entrances behind them as they ran for their lives. Nearly to the checkpoint. The MP's guarding it heard the commotion and were squinting into the near darkness when the little group sped into the light. The MP's allowed them past before unslinging their Pulse-rifles and simultaneously chambering the first round then aiming into the path of the onrushing mob. They knew what that meant, and slowly backed off. When it was safe to look away, the MP's turned to balefully regard the Soldiers. "Now, what the fuck did you guys do...", one began. His voice trailed off when he saw the girl. "Christine... her name is Christine. She's been posted as missing for 3 days. Where did you find her?" The MP's were incredulous. "The outlaw bar, Sir." "You went to that place? You're crazier than I thought. I don't want to know what you thought you were doing by going there. Take her to the local Police, they can handle her. We'll take care of the Outlaw bar. And don't EVER return here, granted you want to live that is." "You can count on it, Sir." The MP's shook their heads sadly as they waved them off. Colonial marines - theres nothing crazier, they thought. Oh sure, they'd be back someday. They didn't take kindly to not being allowed to go places. They dropped the still-shaking girl off with the local Police before trudging through the streets for another twenty minutes before arriving at Hick's last stop for the night. The Vapor lounge. Probably the highest class Cathouse in the town, set in the middle of a far more reputable Red light area. Two bouncers silently watched the group from the doorway as they each put 20 credits of Military scrip into the kitty for Hicks night. They cheered Hicks as he passed through the entrance. He was on the verge of tears. You could search for lifetimes without finding loyalty like this, he thought. "Bring back proof that you've been with one", someone shouted as he disappeared inside. Outside the Vapor lounge, the group slowly dispersed to their lodgings for the night, leaving Crowe and Hudson alone. "Okay Hudson, that was a bit mean of me earlier. I'll make it up for you. You see the girl at the corner there?" Hudson found the indicated girl. Small breasts, slim legs, Asiatic features, early twenties, nice-looking as best as he could tell. She was presently looking sideways to them. He nodded. "She's really nice, you'll like her. I went with her the last time out here. She gives real mean head, man." "Done. See you shipside in two days, Crowe." Crowe slapped him on the back of the shoulders before disappearing into the dark and the gathering mist. Hudson approached the girl and propositioned her. Seemingly without looking him over properly, she accepted and led him up a nearby flight of stairs and unlocked her room at the top. She looked straight at him for the first time. Hudson nearly puked. She had only one eye and no teeth. Somewhere nearby, Crowe smiled to himself. "Okay, you're clean", the bouncer said after a cursory patting-down for hidden weapons and taking the entrance fee. "First time here?", the other asked. Hicks nodded. "Alright, the rules are simple. You choose the ladies you like, then if they like you, they'll come over. Do alright by them, and they'll do alright by you. Any rough stuff, and you'll regret it. Ok?" Hicks nodded. "Have a nice night", the bouncer smiled as he waved him through. True to their word, it was a far more upmarket establishment. Conservatively dressed women were chatting amongst themselves or with potential clients over drinks. Occasionally one would lead a man to a discreet door in the shadows of the lounge. Hicks indicated a stunning Redhead who took his immediate fancy and looked presently unattached, along with several other women, to the courteous waiter who asked if he'd like a drink or if he'd made his choice. Several minutes later the Redhead sidled over and introduced herself as Michelle. He bought her a drink and they chatted idly for a while before she popped the invitation to come out the back with her. As soon as the door of the tidy bedroom had closed behind them, Michelle was all business. She showed him her Health card, holographically imprinted with her photograph, todays date, and the signature of an independent Authority to the statement that she had tested negative to all known Venereal diseases. After it was returned, she asked for his arm, and pressed a vacuum syringe against it to extract a minute sample of blood. "Just routine", Michelle commented. Hicks hardly felt the tiny jab. The sample was mixed with a solution before Michelle drew a line along a piece of paper with more than fifty coded lines along it, split into three groups. After a few seconds many turned Green where they'd been touched by the mixture. The remainder stayed blank. "You're a Soldier, right? The green lines are what you've been innoculated against. If anything was positive, it'd show up red. Most people have only a few greens." "What do the groupings stand for?", he wondered aloud. "The first are the easily curable ones. If any was red, I'd still go with you but we'd use protection. The second are the drug resistant ones and the last are Incurable. You'd be out the door if any of those showed red." Hicks smiled. It must be nice for the women to be able to pick and choose who they wanted and not have to worry whether a client was signing her Death warrant. He wondered how they were chosen for the establishment. "You're one of the guys who trashed the Outlaw bar tonight, aren't you?", she suddenly asked. Hicks became defensive, but answered to the positive. "Don't worry", she replied smiling. "Word spreads fast around here. They've had it coming for a long time. The MP's couldn't touch them without proof, and you gave them that. Right now the whole area is being searched." "Now lets see about those clothes..." She expertly undressed him before leading him to the shower. When he returned, she dried him off, before asking "Whats his name?", pointing towards his cock. "No name, sorry", Hicks replied, blushing. "Okay, I'll call him George for the evening." She indicated for him to lie on the bed, before switching on some music and giving him a long slow striptease, finally ending up completely naked, legs spread wide, while sitting on his legs just above the knees. 'George' was completely erect by this time. Hicks inspected the young womans sexual parts, knowing he was going to be allowed full access to them. The pouting lips of her slit stared back. "I'm feeling a bit hungry, would you like something to eat?", she asked. "Sure, I wouldn't mind something. I haven't eaten decent food for months." Michelle put on a dressing gown before leaving the room. Hicks was in no hurry, the night was still young. He passed the time exploring the room, discovering the collection of equipment stored in the drawers for assorted sexual tastes. He had no doubt there was an electronic bug hidden somewhere for the Girls safety, but he didn't find it. Wasn't she taking a little long? He wondered. He checked his watch, and discovered to his shock that Michelle had been gone for over twenty minutes. Suddenly realising she had left him in the lurch after taking his money, Hicks cursed himself. Outraged at being ripped off so easily and callously, he collected Michelles clothes together in the rubbish bin, drew the rarely-used cigarette lighter from his trousers and started burning each item separately. The room rapidly filled with the acrid smell and blackened fibers caused by burning rubber before being sucked up the air conditioning vent. The last item to go was the lacy bra, which rapidly reduced to a smouldering pair of straps. Just then, his trained ears heard unmistakably female footsteps returning to the room. He hid the remains of Michelles clothes out of sight under the bed before she re-entered the room carrying two steaming plates piled high with a local meat dish. "Sorry I took so long.... Whats that burning smell?", she asked. "Oh, I just had a cigarette. Hope you don't mind." Michelle shrugged her shoulders before sitting next to him to eat their meals together. An hour later, he was standing next to the bed with one leg on a chair. All the better to expose his manhood to Michelle, who was giving him the hardest blow job of his life while fondling and cupping his cum-loaded balls. He looked down to watch the action in the dim light. She'd turned down the light level before engulfing him in one movement. The lipstick was specially made for the girls it seemed, it wasn't coming off as she pushed his cock slowly in and out of her mouth while sucking and swallowing rhythmically. Before he could come, she pulled back and rubbed her firm Breasts around his cock for a minute. "Now, would you like to fuck me?", Michelle asked. "If it's ok, can I give you a good licking first?", he asked. She seemed a little surprised at his request. "Where.... down there?", she asked. He nodded. "How do you want it? Do you want me to sit on your face or lie back?" "You've done all the work so far, you can lie back, unless you want to be on top?" "No, that's fine", she answered casually. Michelle lay back, and Hicks moved her legs into a comfortable position for both of them. He leaned close to Michelles cunt and took hold with his fingers for the close inspection he didn't want to give the Ladies earlier in the evening. The fingers gently parted the tufts of red hair then the wings of Michelles vagina and peered inside. The little round clitoris sprang out as her innermost secrets were exposed. He slowly examined the glistening slit from top to bottom, trying to memorize every detail before setting to work. Maybe I should have been a gynaecologist, he thought. Michelle didn't seem afraid to take her own pleasure while Hicks flicked his tongue over her clitoris and fingered her vagina. She started teasing her own nipples while laying back with her eyes closed. Who was she fantasizing about, he wondered. He was headstrong enough not to be worried that it wasn't likely to be him. The only sounds in the room was the faint hum of the air conditioning, their breathing and the lapping of Hicks tongue between Michelles red wings. "I'm ready", she quietly said after about 10 minutes licking. An idea came to Hicks. Michelles cunt lips were big enough to try something he'd heard about but never tried. He shook his head from side to side making them go 'Pitter patter slappity slap' on his cheeks. "Stop that!", she giggled. He blew a raspberry on her clitoris, making a BRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPP sound. She giggled hysterically and closed her legs on his face. He climbed on top and she guided his cock into her wet hole. It slipped in up to the hilt with hardly any pressure. He started pumping gently while Michelle relaxed with her eyes alternating between looking at his and the ceiling. For a long time he savoured the feeling of sliding in and out of a well lubricated vagina, then faster and faster as he approached orgasm. To his surprise, Michelle reached between them and held his balls just before he came. The moment she did that, he came violently and sprayed her insides with his come. As soon as they disengaged, he took another close look between her legs to see the aftermath of their coupling. As he watched, a thin stream of his come emerged from the wide, wet hole of her Vagina and dribbled down her thighs onto the towel she'd placed on the bed. He ordered a few more drinks for the two of them using the inroom intercom, and they chatted for a long time in the buff before having another shower and falling asleep in each others arms. He liked to feel the warmth of another person next to him as he dozed off. When Hicks suddenly woke before dawn by force of habit, he remembered being asked to bring back a souvenir of the place. Oh, bugger it! He would have asked if she could sign her underpants for him to keep as proof, but he'd gone and burnt everything. Ooops... He scanned the dimly lit room for anything of Michelles that remained intact. The only thing he spotted was her Jewellery. He took it. --------------- The moment the Sulaco was securely docked to the Gateway station, the Customs people and Military police were grilling Ripley via comms monitor. She recognized the procedure and knew they were only doing their job properly. They had to be sure the 11 missing Soldiers hadn't been struck down by a contagious Alien virus or militant boarding party waiting to attack the station the moment the hatch was opened. Ripley patiently explained to the anxious officials the events on Acheron, and waited while the Sulacos records were transmitted by high speed data link to check everything was in order. Finally the hatch was opened. Immediately, a fully armed boarding party entered the ship and checked it thoroughly before allowing Newt and Ripley to leave. An official took them aside and explained that, as witnesses, they had to remain on the station pending the inquiry, and requested a written report from Ripley. The troops were impressed by the damage in the Cargo bay, and more so by the evidence of colossal force brought to bear on the landing mechanism of the remaining Dropships forward strut bay. Something had pushed aside atmospheric plates to make room for itself. Deep claw marks showed where toughened metal had been torn by hideous forces. Hicks went to the infirmary and Bishop went down on the next shuttle to the Hyperdine systems factory for repair. He was evidence, otherwise he'd have been deactivated and stripped of expensive parts. Jonesy balefully regarded Ripley with a "Where've you been?" look when she picked up the Tom from a dockside workmate who'd volunteered to look after him. Newt was excited, she'd never seen let alone held a Cat. Always a practical Cat, the Orange furball purred at the scratching and attention he received because it saved him lots of licking and cleaning. The apartment was tidier than she'd left it, the unobtrusive spindly little cleaning Robot that sat in a corner had taken care of that. It's job hadn't been easy lately, trying to figure out what its master wanted when she had cared little for how her apartment looked. It's fuzzy logic programming liked order and loathed continual mess, and showed it in little ways like, sitting still for hours in the corner trying to decide what to make of the confusing signals it was receiving. Ripley noticed the vidphone light flashing when they re-installed Jonesy in her apartment. That meant stored messages awaiting her perusal. Not now, there would be plenty of time later. Some of them would have been waiting for weeks, a few more hours wouldn't make much difference. The first priority was getting Newt some new clothes. She stood out in the drab, torn clothing she'd lived in for weeks on end. Acheron clothing was mostly a practical and often sexless affair, as befitted the environment. There wasn't much available on Gateway in young girl sizes of course, but Newt went crazy over a patterned thermochromic dress whose colours changed with temperature, which was coming back into style again for the upteenth time. Together with a few matching shirts and shrink-to-fit shoes, she was again an undistinguishable part of society. The first job done, Ripley took Newt on a sightseeing tour of the massive station. They spent hours using the Telescopes in the observation lounge to study the Earth they couldn't visit for now. Ripley pointed out the gray blotches of cities, the brown scars of strip-mined country, the mountains and lakes and Oceans, the Snow and Ice covered polar caps and Mountains, and the Deserts. The little girl was enthralled! She'd never known anything except Acherons barren rock, completely overcast skies, and almost unpalatable air driven by the unceasing wind of incompletely terraformed Acheron. It would be centuries before Acheron could start to look like this. From an unlit viewing bubble they watched silently as the orbiting station dived into Earths shadow. The crescent Earth narrowed to a sliver as the Sun dove into a cloud bank, its light going in seconds from white to red before fading out. Lights came on automatically through most of the station to compensate for the sudden night. The world below certainly wasn't dark. Detail became visible in the moonlight as their eyes adjusted to the dim light. Splashes of light from numerous towns and cities shone out as the United States coastline rounded the curve of the planet. Several active thunderstorms were flashing away over Florida, and every now and then a meteor shot through the Atmosphere far below, its passage lit by the friction of its own self-destruction. It was a spectacle people had watched since the dawn of the space age. The night lasted just under half an hour. They were admiring the Swiss Alps by moonlight when the horizon began to brighten. With their night adapted eyes they could see the distinct layers of Earths atmosphere lit by the still hidden sun. Then the light brightened and flared out to form a thin crescent along the horizon, just before the sun burst forth again. Ripley quickly dealt to the waiting vidphone messages when they returned. Among them was a call requesting their appearance the next day at a hearing to decide on temporary custody of Newt. That raised the question she'd pondered since they had found her in Acherons tunnels. Ripley had lost her daughter Amy through time, and although they hadn't talked about it, she felt Newt wanted and needed her company as much as she needed hers. Now was as good a time as any to ask how she felt. "Newt, we've been asked to appear tomorrow morning at a meeting to decide where you'll live until a formal hearing. Have you given any thought to where you'd like to go?" Newt thought about her reply for a few moments. "I'd like to stay with you, if thats alright?" "I'd like that too, Newt. But we'll have to see what they decide." The little girl hugged Ripley tightly. She'd fought hard for Newts love and trust, and she didn't want to lose it as she'd lost Amy, scant months before in her reckoning, but 58 years in real time. Newt was about the same age, too. Maybe she'd get to see Newt grow up as her own, and watch the years she'd missed in Hypersleep. There was a twinge of regret at the memory of the last time she'd seen Amy, the long wavy Brown hair swaying as she walked down the corridor, hand in hand with her Godparents. There was no bringing Amy back, but maybe she could make it up to herself. The Gateway station circled the Earth twelve times a day exactly in a 1700 km high inclined orbit designed to take it over the main launch and landing site in Florida once a day. Other countries had their own launch sites, but all operated on the basis that, day or night, the launch or landing time depended on when the station passed over. Work by day and work by night. 24 hours a day there was activity throughout the station. There were twelve sunsets and sunrises per day, but each section of the apartment areas had to have an official day or night so they could get peace. At the corresponding time a tickle of voltage applied to the thick windows turned them into one way mirrors reflecting over 99% of incident light. There wasn't room for a spare bed in Ripleys modest apartment, so they shared hers. Newt and Ripley curled up together in the foetal position, facing the same way. Newt wriggled a bit, making herself comfortable before going still. Presently her body gave a small jerk as she fell asleep. Ripley was almost asleep also, when Newt stirred and put one leg over her thigh, unconsciously seeking warmth. Ripley backed away, trying to reach a peaceful settlement. Presently the leg returned. Ripley decided to concentrate on ignoring the minor weight, and had almost succeeded when Jonesy, watching from the tallboy, decided that the warmest place in the room was the best place to be. A thump sounded on the side of the bed as Jonesy landed beside Newt, shook himself and curled up beside the little girl. Newt moaned and pressed closer to Ripley, now about at the edge of the bed. Again, Ripley had almost fallen asleep when Jonesy decided he wanted more warmth, and walked over Newt to put himself between them. Newt jerked and pressed her elbow against Ripleys shoulder. Ripley pushed it aside. Jonesy grizzled and dug in his claws. Ow! Fucken furball. Ripley extracted the claws one by one. Peace returned as Jonesy settled down again. Newt subconsciously remembered the ventilator blades circling precariously above her nest deep in Acherons tunnels, providing air and more importantly, continual covering noise to help prevent her detection by any nearby monsters... Not knowing what she was doing, she raised her hand above her head. Normally it'd have been painfully slapped aside, but not now. Promptly, she forgot about it and made the subtle transition from semiconsciousness to sleep. Shortly the arm fell down again - across Ripleys face. Ripley instantly sat up. There was some movement, then silence returned. The new arrangement was satisfactory, and all three dozed off without any further hitch. "Ellen, you can come to my party this Friday night, if you want", sweet-faced Charlene asked 16-year old Ellen Ripley. Ellen Ripley was a very pretty girl, often sought after for dates. Long wavy Black hair, nicely built body, and a cheerful appearance and outlook made her a sought-after party person. Beneath the disarming smile was a strong personality that didn't take kindly to being pushed around. She pondered this unexpected surprise. She had never been to one of Charlenes parties, but she'd heard they were well organized with lots of the best people there. She'd also heard but didn't quite believe, the stories Megan and Michael had told her of what sometimes happened at them later in the evening. "Okay, I'm in. I'll see you there... what time?", Ellen replied. "Great! It starts around seven tomorrow. See you there", Charlene said as she made a last minute dash for Communications class. Ellen had to run to be in time for History. She loved learning about the great explorers and journeys of the past. Sometimes she wished she could have lived in the past, there were far more paths to advancement available then. The glamour jobs these days were in Computers, Administration, Space, and Mining. Mankind was on the move, making a beeline for the stars as fast as ships could ply the spaceways. The only thing that never improved was the pollution. This morning there had been another red smog over the city. With the advent of the Hydrogen powered vehicle the only significant source of Sulphur fumes was the mines, and little was said about their output. Someone was making money, she mused, but none filtered down to where she could see it. Her parents raised no objection to her going to the party when she asked at dinnertime that night. Her Father and Mother were a professional couple working in Maintenance and Computer-aided design, respectively. Ellen wasn't expected to follow in either of their footsteps, just to find her own way in life. Sometimes she regretted being an only child, it meant her parents aspirations were entirely on her shoulders and she couldn't go to a brother or sister for help. Her parents had helped by 'letting her go', to choose her own career or life, and she loved them for it. When she got contemplative she felt herself at a bit of a crossroads sometimes. She could find a man to settle with or pursue a career... but what in? She liked the idea of going into space and joining modern day pioneers somewhere, but was a little afraid of so completely leaving her roots behind. She planned on doing something at least theoretically physical, to leave her mark somewhere, as she put it. As they ate in their 70th floor apartment she admired the cityscape through the floor-to-ceiling one way glass, opaque and not mirrored from the outside so as not to make someone elses life hell from the massive reflections. Artifical diamond columns reinforced the 200-300 storey apartment blocks. Pedestrian access was afforded by walkways every 50th floor, and jutting landing platforms every 10th floor for ultralites, many of which cruised and glided on precisely controlled paths around the city at all hours. Far below, people were just visible in the last hours of daylight, walking through designated greenspaces and shopping areas. The odd seabird flashed through the fading light between buildings, heading inland from the sea a few miles away. Occasional glimpses of indicator or brake lights betrayed Hydrogen powered Automobiles filling the roads as always. There was more than enough room for everyone on under and overground public transport, but predictably, many had refused to give up the independence of their own vehicle. The overpowering size of the city, and the number of people occupying it with the same dreams and aspirations as her meant that the odds of making a mark here were slim to virtually non-existent. Slowly but surely the scales were tipping towards leaving. The days until Friday passed quickly, between school, friends, study and work. Half an hour early, Ellen bade her parents goodnight before taking an evening transport to Charlenes block. Ultralites were patiently recharging, wings folded upwards in the takeoff gangway to save room, like fighters on ancient aircraft carriers. Ellen had an ingrained habit of never taking the first available, probably learned from watching too many spy and gangster movies when she was young. As soon as she was secure, the ultralite closed and rolled toward the takeoff point. Motors started and the wings folded down just before it reached the point of no return. Ellen soared out into the clear air between buildings. A faint whistling sound penetrated the cockpit, a combination of air rushing past and wing flaps adjusting position hundreds of time a second to counter turbulence. Even with thousands of craft in the air at once there was no possibility of collision with everything under central control via Radio. The ultralite was presently taking her towards the distant sea. Almost directly above was another craft on a similar course. It's destination wasn't the same; shortly it changed direction and disappeared towards the reddening sun. Beyond the city were the recycling plants then the New Forest, dozens of miles of still maturing native and imported trees segregated by species into miles-long blocks. Part of the company's "green" image. Was it really true that adventurous couples had made love in mid flight? Two person transports had consecutive seats, precluding climbing from one to the other. The only conceivable way was if she sat on his lap. But security people would still be waiting on arrival to check if the occupant(s) had experienced a medical problem, alerted by sensors to the unusual passenger movement. The line of thought brought her back to the upcoming party, only a few miles away now. It was months since she'd broken up with Alan. His juicy dick had filled her mouth and cunt with cum on many occasions in the four months they'd been going out.... Damn, she was making herself wet just thinking about it. If only he hadn't been so stubborn about accepting that she liked to go out with girlfriends by herself sometimes. He was the first guy she'd ever given a blowjob to. The taste revolted her at first but she'd gotten used to it and almost liked it after the first few minutes. Then came the sudden jet of sperm that went straight down her throat. She was so taken aback that it wasn't until two more jets landed on her tongue that she realised he was cumming, he hadn't given a sign he was near. She couldn't decide if she liked the taste or not, but she'd really have preferred to have been warned first. Afterwards he'd laid her back and planted his tongue in her crack. It was only a few nail-biting minutes before Ellen felt herself about to climax, and decided two could play his game. She was tiddly enough to do it, and a jet of natural lubricant shot from her vagina into his mouth as she came, making him splutter from the salty taste. She wished she could have recorded the look on his face at that moment for posterity. Heh heh. Nearly there now. Charlenes block was looming up. The motor stopped for the glide down to the nearest available spot. Just before landing they started again to guide Ellen to a pinpoint landing at a leisurely five knots. Charlene was able to afford her own 3-bedroom apartment, which was how she was able to have such regular parties. Ellen took care not to let herself jump at Charlenes solido picture of a jungle, cunningly installed near the door to catch people by surprise. As you walked past the full color hologram, the scene changed like a movie. At a point, a Crocodile lunged out of the river to fill the whole picture. Ellen had a simpler one, a fractal landscape. Mountains, Lakes, Underwater shots, Space scenes and Nudes were popular in solidos. Twenty people were chatting away or dancing in a little group near the sound system when Ellen arrived. Charlene did the introductions before Ellen spotted Megans distinctive plaited hairstyle in the crowd and joined a group of her chums. Megan was going out with Michael, a good friend of Ellens. The conversation was presently centered on the uncoming exams and their preparation or lack thereof for them. Some hours later the party reached its quota of 30-40. Ellen had quaffed a few drinks by then and danced with a few people, mostly girlfriends. With her latest drink in hand, she took a long look at the crowd to see what kind of company Charlene kept. There were a few older people aged 19-20 scattered about, most were about her age, and a few in the 12-14 age group. There were more women than men in the room. Nothing special, she concluded. She couldn't imagine much happening, and rejoined the conversation. "Watch her", Megan suddenly whispered into Ellens ear while subtly indicating a Brown haired girl aged about 19 who'd arrived a few minutes before. Megan was the friend who'd told Ellen about the goings on here. As she watched from the other side of the party, the Brown haired girl walked over to the group comprising the youngest boys and promptly said something to one of them. He nodded, and followed her out the door. Nothing special about that, she thought. They were probably family. "Wait", Megan said. Ellen was becoming impatient with Megan, when the boy walked back into the room looking as though he'd swallowed a bottle of spirits. He was promptly followed by the Girl, who again walked over to the group of young boys and said something to one. After the second time, the boys were whispering to each other and looked expectant. Something was going on, and Ellen had a queasy feeling she knew what it was. "Whats she up to?", Ellen asked Megan after the second boy returned and she departed with the third, a blonde aged about 14. "Come on, I'll show you", Megan replied, leading her to the unlit kitchen. "Don't touch the light!" someone said when Ellen moved for the switch. Several people were already in there, looking out the window. Curious, Ellen joined them. Outside was the Balcony. The door to the Balcony next door opened and the boy and girl came out. As she watched, the girl closed the door behind them and whispered something into his ear. He nodded vigorously, and followed her instruction to lean back against the wall. She kneeled and pulled his trousers down before swallowing his half-erect cock in one gulp. Oh, shit! Ellen gasped in disbelief. The other watchers murmured. There was just enough light with the door closed to see everything. "Deborah is cock-crazy", Megan whispered into Ellens ear. "She can't get enough of giving young boys their first blowjob. She's done boys down to about 10." Transfixed, Ellen watched the girls cheeks puckering rhythmically as she applied suction to the young virgin's cock. As soon as he was hard enough, she began moving her mouth up and down its length while fondling his cum-filled balls with one hand. It didn't take long with her obvious experience. The fast and furious Blowjob took its toll; his mouth opened wide and he sagged back. She didn't relinquish her hold on his cock, but kept sucking, extracting every drop she could. Ellen stayed in the Kitchen for 10 minutes, watching as the girl returned several more times to do the exact same thing to new boys. At one of them, a line of sperm burst from her mouth and dribbled down her cheek as he came. As soon as he was finished, she wiped it off her face with a finger before licking it clean. Next to them was a deckchair, but she always had them standing up. Either she knew she was being watched, or she figured she'd get more spunk than if they were lying down. "Oh my god", Ellen shook her head to Megan when she returned to the party, leaving a small group still watching. "They don't complain, and I've never seen her do the same guy twice", Megan replied, grinning. Ellen thought she'd seem absolutely everything now, and had to have another drink to recover! Not long afterwards, Philip, a nice-looking guy Ellen had cast a few admiring glances over when she'd seen him in school, 'convinced' the girl he was chatting with to come with him to one of the spare bedrooms for awhile. Very shortly she found herself being undressed from top to bottom, and each part of her body made love to as it was exposed. She had a little suurrppriiiiisssee waiting for him! It wasn't only pleasure lust that smirked across her face in the bedroom. The surprise stared him in the face when he peeled down her underwear prior to some serious muff-munching. Before leaving for the party, she'd used a food-colouring to dye her pubic hair green and applied a temporary 'Keep off the grass' tattoo in the shape of a sign immediately above it. Outside, an exceptionally pretty, slim, smooth legged, miniskirted young Blonde of around 15 was sitting amongst her friends. She was the focus of attention of several young men across the room from her, who were making less and less subtle glances her way. Little by little her legs were coming further and further apart before closing again, affording them tantalizing views of inner thigh and white underwear. Ellen noticed the temperature rising in a corner of the room, along with some anxious bulges in trousers, whose owners were trying to subtly cover up. "Do you see what I see, Megan?", Ellen asked. "Oh, her. She KNOWS what she's doing", she replied when the girl was pointed out to her. While partaking in the conversation her group was in the midst of, the Blonde continued to mercilessly tease the young men across the room whilst maintaining her look of complete innocence. Yes, now was the time for the coup de grace. She reached under the miniskirt and between her slightly spread legs, took hold of the side of her panties, and pulled them and her Vagina lips aside for a few eternal seconds. Ellen clearly saw pink before the girl released them back into place and closed her legs, not to be opened for the rest of the night. Ellen nearly fainted. All the time, the girl hadn't so much as made eye contact with the guys she was teasing. "Hi Ellen! You're a sight for sore eyes as always", Michael greeted her as he came over and joined her and Megan. "Flatterer", Ellen shot back. Megan poked him the ribs as he sat between them. She'd had the chance to go out with him years before, but they'd decided they were too close as friends to risk what they had. She'd seen people who were friends become lovers then bitterly split up, and figured it was best to make a lover out of a stranger. Ellens group kept their discretion and remained together so they wouldn't be hassled by the few guys whose sex drive had boiled over with the goings on. They were content to watch the amusement over drinks. Charlenes party was living up to its reputation! Then trouble presented itself in the form of... Paul. He'd been sitting with the other Brain deads in a corner, and had decided it was time to "score". He was the kind of guy who had to boast to everyone who'd listen, of each sexual conquest whether real or imagined. "Who invited him to the party?", Ellen asked Michael when she spotted him working his way over. "I think he invited himself. He's been here the last few times, and a lot of people are getting pissed off at him. Just ignore him." But no, he didn't ignore her, and sidled over. "Say, Ellen, I haven't seen you here before", he said. "Wanna dance?" he continued when no reply was forthcoming. Ellen slowly turned towards him. "Piss....... off", she simply said before turning away again. "Well, if thats the way it's gonna be, fine", he said as he walked off. No skin off my teeth, Paul. "Hang on a minute...", Michael said as he went to the kitchen to grab another drink. Ellen caught a glimpse of him having an urgent whispered conversation into the ear of a nice-looking Brunette she hadn't seen before. The girl looked unhappy about something, but presently she smiled and left the kitchen. Michael returned and saw Ellens quizzical face when he sat between them again. "Just making an arrangement", he said simply. As she watched, the Brunette walked over to Paul and invited him to join her for a dance. True to form, within a few minutes he whispered something to her. To Ellens surprise, she nodded agreement and went with him down the corridor to one of the spare bedrooms. "Oh no, why did you do that? She'll keep him going for WEEKS!", Ellen said in disappointment. "No he won't. You'll suffer him for 2 or 3 days, max", he smiled. Ellen mulled this over. "How come?", she asked. "She's a friend of a friend. She enjoys sex, and I brought her along especially for Paul. She's got the clap." Ellen sprayed some of the mouthful of drink she was swilling, and nearly choked on the remainder from laughing. Megan grinned evilly. STD's could have been eradicated centuries ago, but with such things there was always SOMEONE who refused treatment out of ignorance or stubbornness, and so the cycle started all over again. The medical centers had never ceased to be amazed by the daily parade of people seeking attention. "How did Charlenes parties get like this?", Ellen asked. "This your first time here?" "At one of her parties, yes" "I dunno really, I think it started when someone decided to flirt a bit harder than normal, and it went on from there. A few people didn't want to be a part of some girls ego trip and haven't come back, but thats up to them." "What if someone tried touching a girl who didn't want it?" "A guy tried once. We took him out the back, stripped him, tied him to a bed, put toothpaste on his balls, and didn't let him go for hours. Nobodys tried since." "I'm not surprised." Meanwhile, Jane and Philip in the first bedroom were engaged in a furious sixty-niner. He had licked her until she was randy enough to demand a go at his cock, so they moved into position with her on top. She was getting closer to orgasm with each passing moment from the incessant licking and the mouthful of cock he had, and she wanted to feel her vagina being filled by the cock she was sucking on. "I want your cock inside me, right now!", she blurted out. A light came on in his head. "Can we do it from behind?", he asked. Jane liked it that way because she could play with herself and his balls at the same time, and feel them slapping against her crack as she was fucked. She agreed. "Could you lie flat on your stomach with your legs a bit apart?" Jane thought that position a bit odd, but said nothing and did as he asked to see what it would be like. If it didn't work she could move back into the original position. But Philip had other ideas. He rubbed his cock up and down her crack to spread the lubrication around and stimulate her clitoris with the tip. Then he moved the head of his cock into position and eased it in. Little by little he pushed it in until his balls pressed against her crack. Right... go for it! He took hold of her arms to hold her down, stopped in midstroke and bent down to her ear. "You're the ugliest bitch I've ever been with, and I've been with heaps of girls. I wanted you in this position so I don't have to see your face", he said. WHAT? "YOU FUCKEN BASTARD!", she screamed loud enough for people near the bedroom to hear over the sound system. She did a good imitation of hair going on end as her face twisted with rage. She began struggling violently. Wow! He was surprised by her strength, and had to hang on tight. Perfect! Ridem, Cowboy! He didn't have to move. Her thrashing did it for him and he shortly came in long spurts inside her vagina. A few seconds later he relaxed, allowing her to get the upper hand and throw him off. At that moment, Ellen was chatting with Charlene, who'd circulated around to her again. The first they knew of it was when the apartment reverberated to a loud crash as Jane attempted to propel Philip from the room, without opening the door first. "Oh, fuck!", Charlene exclaimed. "If they've wrecked anything they're gonna pay for it!" A few seconds later Philip ran for his life from the bedroom, with his trousers undone and no t-shirt. Unbeknownst to him, his lips and tongue had aquired a prominent tinge of green from the food colouring in Janes pubic hair. Ellen smiled to herself as the bedroom door was yanked shut behind Philip. The explanation for this one would be interesting! Shortly thereafter, Megan noticed the fat insect feeding off Michaels arm. Looking closer, she saw it was red with his blood, meaning it'd been there awhile. "Mike, you've got a Mosquito on your arm." "Pardon?", he said over the din. "Culicidae culex, on your arm" "Ah..." Understanding flooded across his face. He mashed the offending insect with a meaty palm, leaving a bloodspot. "Fucken Xenomorph." As randy as Ellen was feeling after viewing the goings on around her, she'd lose social status by making a pass at Philip tonight. She was tempted to "put the bait out" and see who she could reel in to give her a licking, but decided against it. Not under these circumstances. A few minutes later she noticed a little group of giggling girls subtly glancing in the direction of a guy several seats away from her. Now what? After an especially loud peal of laughter, one of the girls broke away from the group and sat next to him. Ellen was just close enough to hear what came next. "Hi.. Umm.. my friends have a little bet on you. Interested?" "First, what are they betting on?" "I've bet you'll take my underwear off within a minute of sitting next to you. Could you? I'd lose money otherwise." He glanced into her eyes for approval, then reached under her dress with both hands and pulled them down to her knees. She pocketed them before returning to her friends. Oh.. FUCKEN HELL! Right... THAT was IT!! Ellen had reached her limit. She couldn't take any more. So who was it to be? She wanted a tongue in her groove, and it couldn't be Michael. She scanned the crowd for possibles. Yes, there. Among the few dancers near the stereo was another guy from school she'd added to her mental "I want" list. Yummy! She didn't know his name, but he was definitely her type with darkly handsome features, brown eyes, hair almost as black as hers and a thin smile she'd wanted to kiss from the first time she'd seen it. To her, the ring and stud in his left ear meant internal strength. She was convinced he'd be interesting to get to know better. After watching him for awhile to ensure he was alone, Ellen approached and tapped him on the shoulder from behind. "Are you with someone?" "No." "Good. I want to dance with you. Okay?" "Thats fine by me", he flashed the grin she liked. "I'm Ellen. I've seen you around my school a bit", Ellen replied as she led him to the middle of the little group. She wasn't one to stand out. "Hi, I'm Kevin. Ummm, I've seen you around as well." Gotcher! So he was probably paying attention to her, too. Lets play it by ear. "I like the earring. Not many guys have one." "Oh, that! It's a bit of a family tradition, goes back god knows how many generations." They danced and chatted for awhile before Ellen beckoned him to follow her. She led him to the bedroom recently vacated by Philip and Jane. The sheets were still ruffled and the smell of sex was still noticeable. Ellen closed the door behind them before turning to Kevin, who was regarding her while holding his watchstrap and looking nervous. "Kevin, I want to kiss you." "Why do you want to do that? I don't think I'm that great." "Well, I happen to think so. Your modesty will take you far." "This is happening a bit fast." "You're nervous, aren't you?" "I've never met anyone so..." "Forward?" "Yes, thats what I mean." "I know what I want, thats all." Ellen moved forward and planted a quick kiss on Kevins lips. That woke him up. He took hold of her and pulled her to him for another. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" "I've got protection, if you want to go all the way." "No, you can't fuck me. You can lick me, and I'll suck you, but you're not sticking me. I don't want that tonight. Okay?" "Some people would call you a tease for that." "Thats their problem. I don't really care what they say." "Yeah, I figured." Ellen wiggled a finger towards her lips in the "c'mere" gesture. They intertwined again, Kevin forcing his tongue into Ellens mouth. Ellen reached around and grabbed one of his arms, tried to pull it around to her front. He resisted. She pulled harder. "Is something wrong?" "Gimme your hand." This time he didn't resist, as Ellen placed one of his hands on her breast. "Thats where I want it." He gently squeezed her breast, making her moan. "I like to be kissed like this", she explained as their lips met again. Ellen started backing them towards the bed. "How do you want it?", Kevin asked. "Can I be on top?" "Yes please!" Kevin lifted Ellens dress and with one swift movement pulled off her underpants. He quickly got onto the bed and lay back. Ellen clambered on top in the 69 position. Kevin arranged her dress so it wouldn't get in the way before parting Ellens clamshell cunt lips. The inner lips eagerly opened wide at his touch, revealing soft wet pink flesh. "I'll bet half the guys in school would like to give you a gynaecology examination." "Would they now? Tough. They're out of luck aren't they? Now shut up and eat me." ZONK! Yes, that hit the spot. Kevin didn't need to be asked twice. It wasn't until her second time with a guy that she'd received a licking. That first tonguing had given her the spooks, she didn't know what she was supposed to feel until she got used to it. Now she was trembling, possessed with pleasure and lust. Her part of the bargain was staring her in the face. The thermometer bulging in his pants told her how much he liked what he was doing. She didn't want to suck him yet, she found she couldn't concentrate on receiving and giving pleasure at the same time. But a little teasing never went astray, and she started fondling the bulge in his pants. A finger penetrated her cunt, quickly followed by a second. The lapping tongue disappeared and was replaced by something cooler and harder. His nose! The cheeky bugger was using his nose on her clitoris. Oh well, as long as he doesn't stop what he's doing, she figured. She felt the massive orgasm start when the tonguing and fingering resumed. Then came an out of place rustling noise. "Mommy?", a voice called out. No, that didn't match. Ripley ignored the interruption to the impending orgasm. She'd learned a few prodreaming skills to help her recovery from the Nostromo flight, enough to prevent a dream sidetracking from the path she wanted it to take. The trouble was recognizing the nightmare for what it was while asleep and avoiding it in time. The exercises included how to shut off outside influences, and keeping dreams going past the usual cutoff point of extreme emotion if she chose. Oh god, she was so close now. Don't you DARE stop, Kevin! Fuck that feels good! Ellen nuzzled closer to the bulge in Kevins pants and kissed it. One queen-sized BJ coming up just as soon as she'd come. She was going to tease him for ages before finally bringing him off into her mouth so she could experience the sudden hot taste of his cum. She wanted that more than anything else right now. "Mommy?", the voice came again. The pleasant memory faded out, replaced by the semi-darkness of her apartment. The night lights were on and faint music was playing. Time to get up. "Mmmmmpphhh??", Ripley moaned. "Why are you sleeping on the floor?" I'll tell you about it someday, Newt. Ripley had arranged things so she didn't have to return to work on the cargo docks until after the military inquiry, which was only a few days away. Today she wanted to visit Hicks in Hospital after Newts custody was decided upon this morning. Then there was her flight certification to see to. Burke... liar, blank faced official murderer and good Company tool, she hoped he hadn't lied about her reinstatement to flight duty. And Bishop; she'd see him at the inquiry no doubt. At least his Holographic memory couldn't be doctored like the lifeboat flight recorders... The beep from the door took her by surprise as she prepared a cooked breakfast. (And when was the last time she'd done THAT, she thought to herself) She answered the door in her nightrobe while Newt showered next door. A Tall suited figure was standing outside, suitcase in hand. Receding hairline, brown eyes, clean shaven. Late twenties at a guess. She knew who he represented before he spoke. "Hello Ripley, Can we talk? I'm Bill; Bill Keys. I work with the company. Hope I'm not too early?" She started, but caught herself in time from slamming the door in his face. The last company 'okay guy' assigned to her had attempted to deliver them to the wolves for money. She wisely decided to at least hear him out, it couldn't do any harm. But this time she wouldn't allow herself to make the mistake of forgetting what he was, not even for an instant. "Now is as good a time as any, I guess", she said without much enthusiasm. "You're kinda early for a housecall, aren't you?" "Ah, yes, I wanted to catch you before you left for work." He noted the sheets and pillow still lying on the floor and said nothing, remembering Ripleys psych reports. "As you know, Mr Burke arranged the return of your commercial flight officers license in exchange for your help on the rescue mission." "And?" "The decision as to whether it will be returned will be made after the joint military and civilian court of inquiry", he took a breath, "but it looks good so far." Well, that's the first piece of good news for a long time, she thought. "You did pretty well there, from what I've seen on the records. A few people were wondering if you'd consider a military career?", he joked. She smiled, without much humour. "Not really, I'd just like to continue where the company left me off." Strictly business. "Well, in that case, as Mr Burke also stated the company has agreed to pick up your contract, if you're interested", he added when he noticed Newt returning from the shower. "The young girl you brought back from the Colony?" She nodded. "The temporary Custody hearing is this morning. No, theres no hurry to go, it's in a few hours. And about the contract - I haven't given much thought yet about taking it up." "Hows your report coming along?" "It'll be finished on time." Time to raise the stakes a little. "What's the company view on the Sulaco tapes?" His voice dropped a pitch. "They validate your story." Pause. "What I saw of them was godawful. The subject of whether they should be classified was raised last night. They're still deciding how to tell the families of those poor people." She looked into his eyes. The feelings he was conveying seemed genuine, but she wasn't allowing herself to fall into the subtle trap. Lets see what she could get out of him. "What was Carter Burkes position within the company?" "He was a minor company executive, assigned to your case. Why?" "Just curious. There are some aspects of this affair that aren't on the tapes." "Such as?" "Company directive Six Twelve Nine, dated Five Thirteen Seventy-Nine, to the colony of Acheron. Have you read it?" "I would if I could, but all material concerning the colony has been subpoened. Enlighten me." She handed him the piece of paper she'd discreetly printed from the Colony computer. If the soldiers had seen this... He read slowly through the edict, and his color faded somewhat. He re-read it before answering. "Mr Burke sent them to check on the Alien ship you reported?" "Without warning them of the danger. He seemed more interested in preserving a sample than anyones welfare, if you know what I mean", Ripley added. "I assume this is genuine?" "There should be a copy in your computer." She placed emphasis on the word 'should'. There was a long pause. "My god... I had absolutely no idea of this, believe me. Can I keep this?" "Sorry, I need it for inclusion in my report." He looked reluctant, then nodded. "I think I should report this immediately, if you don't mind?" "By all means." Ripley nodded to the door. There goes the mouse that destroyed the elephant, she thought. There was an uncomfortable few minutes waiting before they were called into an office. The 30ish year old female social worker bade them to sit while arranging her papers. "You're Rebecca Jorden?", she asked Newt. "Uh huh." "Okay, Rebecca. Have you given much thought to where you'd like to live?" "With Ripley, if thats alright." "You could say we've got a lot in common. I'd like to give it a try" Ripley added. "Okay. Now, Rebecca, we're tracing your relatives through computer records, but that will take a few days of course with some being on other Colonies. You know we have to give priority to relatives applying for permanent custody?" "Yes, but I'd like to stay with Ripley." "And we want whats best for you too, Rebecca. We just have to consider all available options. You get to have a say, of course. Now, Ms Ripley, as part of our job we have to do a background check on possible recipients. There are a few things I feel we should discuss. Do you want Rebecca to be in here during that?" "I think I know what they are. Go ahead." The Social worker nodded. "Ok. According to your file, you had a messy family situation immediately prior to leaving Earth on a short term contract. How do you feel about looking after a daughter again?" Ripley could almost feel the accusation, that she'd abandoned Amy. Her Husband had similarly accused her when she'd accepted the Nostromo posting. She admired the diplomatic way the social worker had put the question, sparing her recalling the details in front of Newt. "I was thinking about Amy. She'd had enough of both of us, so I figured to give her a few months to get over it. Every day I think about Amy waiting her whole life for me to return, but I never did. I'd very much like to look after Newt. I feel we need each other." "Good. Okay, secondly, until the Nostromo flight you had a good employment record. But, on your return, you were found to have acted with questionable judgement, and were required to attend a psychiatric tech once a month. You've had a good record since, working in the cargo docks. You obviously like to keep occupied. But what I need to know is, do you feel you've gotten over the... 'problem'... since your return?" "I can tell fiction from reality, if thats what you mean?" "Yes, thats what I mean." "My 'problem' as you put it, I'm handling in my own time now. The court of inquiry will corroborate my story in a few days." "I'll have to take your word on that, but I don't see any problems. You have temporary custody of Rebecca Jordan, until such time as a full hearing on her adoption, subject to the condition that relatives are allowed access at any reasonable time. Do you have any questions?" "No, thats fine by me", Ripley answered. The social worker typed the order into the system. And that was that. Ripley was beaming for the first time in years when they left the office. Now, there was someone else she had to see. After finding where to go on an electronic map, they set off across the station. "Where are we going?" Newt asked. "To see someone special." "Mr Hicks?" "Uh, huh." It took a good 15 minutes to reach the medical area, deliberately set in a quiet out-of-the-way area. "We're see to Hicks; Dwayne Hicks", Ripley asked the duty nurse, who was busy entering details into her terminal. "Are you relatives?" "No, we're just friends. Is that ok?" The expressionless Nurse didn't need to check the console for his status and availability before replying. "Room 2107, next level up", indicating the lift partway down a corridor. "He's doing quite well for himself, I gather. He should be out in a day or two." "Is he awake?" "He's refusing injections, he wanted seconds and thirds of breakfast this morning, and he asked the Charge Nurse out on a date. Sounds normal to you?" "Very definitely", Ripley smiled. Hicks was working on his written statement when they entered the open door. Bandaged forehead, chest and arm - he wasn't slowing down any more than necessary. "Well, Dwayne. You've been keeping the nurses busy, I hear." "Ellen! How the bloody hell are you? It took me hours to find out if you were alive or not. You made it... you really made it!" Hicks welcomed Ripley with open arms. "I still think you were crazy going down there, but what the hell..." and to Newt, "I owe you one, little lady, and I don't forget debts." "We all owe her. I've got temporary custody. And I seem to remember you promising to buy her a bed." "Oh, THAT", he grimaced, remembering the promise he'd made while following Newt through the ventilation ducts out of the complex. Oh well. "A promise is a promise. You'll get it." "I heard something about one of those critters smuggling itself onto the dropship. What happened?" "Well, yes. We threw it overboard before it could do much", Ripley answered modestly. "The company people got to you too, huh?", she continued, obliquely referring to his half complete report. "Have they what! They're right miffed because someone dropped a nuke on a high plateau area of Acheron. That was you, I take it?" "Bishop gave me the codes to drop one from orbit on the Alien ship, so no other poor souls would stumble across it." "Wish I'd seen it. For years we've looked at those nukes and stencilled on them, but we never got to actually use one. And I slept through it all. Don't tell me, they can bill you for it?" "Yeah, well, the tabs getting quite big. It won't make much difference." That night was Hicks' second of normal sleep in a row. He didn't miss the cryogenic alternative in the least. You never dreamed in cryosleep. Maybe that was another reason why the military preferred it. Another off duty time. This time Hicks memories flashed back to the time on Tionis. Bored bored bored. They were in temporary accommodation, playing craps and racing the Insects someone had collected, while awaiting the orders to move onto the next troublespot they had to clean up. Half the time, a few big time hunters would suffice to clean out whatever marauding wildlife had taken a fancy to the colonists. But no, they had to send a team of soldiers instead. Great. They'd trained for years to become bug hunters. "Okay, chiluns, I've scored us some vids", Drake the smartgunner proudly announced as he entered their enclave. Everyones ears perked up. Entertainment at last. Wherever they were, Drake always managed to get his hands on some illegal vids. It was widely believed he'd signed up to hide from the law. Nobody ever queried this; a soldiers past was his own so long as it didn't interfere with his work. But he certainly knew how to make the contacts. Maybe his scarred appearance helped in that respect. "What've you got for us today, Drake?", Crowe asked, intrigued. "Lessee... 'Alien antics'... and 'Doggie training'" "Well, what're you waiting for? Put em on", Hudson suggested. Even Ferro the dropship pilot, Dietrich the stuffy medtech and Vasquez joined in. They'd long since learned to find amusement wherever it could be had. As long as fun wasn't poked at them as women, they didn't really care what the men watched. Someone scrounged a vidset from a back room, while Hicks grabbed an armful of beer cans from the fridge to go around. 'Alien antics' went on first. This one featured various partners having sex in turn with a species of Hermaphrodite monkey a few of them recognized as a native of Vebi. In between the howls of laughter, the loud groans as the vid-disk descended to a new low in film history, and the sound of beer being guzzled to help the drinker recover from segments of the tape, came various lewd remarks. "Primates, not more fucken primates", Wierzbowski said out loud, in between the squelching and moaning the too-close microphone had captured for eternity. "Fuck, those things again. Ever been near them? They smell like nobody's business. I'd sooner shoot them than screw them", Vasquez, the 'Gamin assassin' muttered. "Same thing in your case, innit?", Drake retorted. Vasquez biffed at him the furry insect she'd been stroking. Apone chose that moment to walk in. He'd been out to check whether their orders had come in yet. There was a collective inhaling of breath. The big Sergeant sized up the goings on at a glance. "At ease. You'll go blind watching that sort of crap, people", he announced before returning to his paperwork. A quiet guffaw went through the little crowd. Apone knew when to turn a blind eye; as long their fun didn't do any harm he couldn't be bothered to pull rank. The next vid-disk was more of the same, with Earth-bound dogs. Very deviant stuff. The beer was long gone by the end. Even Drake was satisfyingly disgusted with it all. The Ladies wandered off after that to have drinkies down the road. Unscheduled slack time was rare as hens teeth, and not to be missed. They wisely reported their exact whereabouts to Hicks first, in case the order to ship out came through. "I could do with a stripper to get over that one", Frosty said out loud after they'd gone. "Well, what do you think, Hicks. Is that a good idea, or what?", Hudson seconded the suggestion. "Well, I'd say yes, but I'd best ask Apone first. Are the rest of you in?" By the vigorous nods, he took the response to be 'yes'. Hicks went to check with Apone. He wasn't gone long. "The Sarge says 'yes', he'll even chip in. Who wants to arrange things? Crowe? You seem to know your way around." "Yeah, ok, give me the money and I'll be back in the hour." Everyone chipped in 10 credits of military scrip. The girl wouldn't have much trouble getting 5 times its value on the black market. That was another advantage of being in the Army, out in the boondocks things were often cheaper than they would be otherwise. By the time he'd returned with a slim long legged natural blonde, the others had turned up the lounge temperature for her benefit, set up a sound system and collected everyones music so she could take her pick. She looked a little nervous when she arrived, with all those men in the Lounge awaiting her. Crowe reassured her, "Don't worry, they know how to behave. Nobody lays a finger on you unless you let them." The whistling and clapping told Crowe he'd made a good choice of girl. He rejoined his friends as the Blonde selected her choice of music and set the volume. When the music started, she put a hand to her ear while facing them sideways, feigning listening. The explosion of cheers and whistling from the assembled soldiers bade her to start. First to go was the top, then the Leather miniskirt. The more she took off, the louder the cheers became. A real professional, she lip synched with the songs she knew and pantomimed the words occasionally. No shortage of cheering from this Audience. These soldiers beat many crowds she'd performed for. There was nothing she hated more than people paying good money for her then staying quiet, as if she or they were doing something wrong. Time to start teasing. She invited Wierzbowski to remove her bra, to tumultuous applause. She advanced on the men sitting on the floor in front of the others, stooped over one and bent down close enough for him to smell her cunny. He put his hands up and touched her legs, no further. No worries from this bunch alright. Good. She moved among them, teasing as she went. Bending down slightly and closing her legs or crotch against the legs of a few. Others, she rubbed the crotch of their trousers with a hand. By now, some had hardons they were trying to subtly cover by partly hiding behind their friends. One went down on his knees, begging her to marry him. "No, but you can take my shoes off", she replied. She turned away before slowly, ever so slowly, pulling down her underwear while rocking her hips from side to side. The soldiers went crazy! Buck naked, she wandered among them again, rubbing herself against them, hugging a few, letting them touch anything except her private parts. Not yet... She moved back again and lay down, legs spread wide for the first time. While gyrating her hips, she put a hand between her legs and pulled everything open for them to have a good look. The wilder she got, the more they loved it. She was determined they were going to be satisfied with this performance! She put a finger inside herself briefly before standing again. Once more she advanced on the men, before bending her knees and pulling the face of another who was sitting into her crotch. Instantly he was nuzzling close and licking her. She let him have a good faceful of fluff before choosing the two she was going to have fun with. Crowe was enjoying the show with everyone else when she suddenly advanced on him and pulled him forward by the arm. "Hey, wait a minute, not me!" "Yes, you." "Go on, Crowe.. YEEAAAAHHH!!!" Everyone shouted and cheered him on. You think you're in luck... just you wait buster... Heh heh, she thought. Swiftly she turned down the volume on the sound system, before turning her attention back to Crowe and unzipping his trousers, but not pulling them down. "The poor guys got a soft-on. Tsk tsk, have to do something about that, won't we? Leave it to me. Close your eyes." The moment he did, she whipped a ping pong ball attached to a length of elastic from the discarded dress. Working quickly, she tied the other end of the elastic to his lowered fly before lying back on the floor, facing the crowd. She inserted the ping pong ball into her vagina and held it there with her muscles. The elastic was nice and tight by now. Perfect. The others knew what was coming! "Keep your eyes closed. Are you REEEAAAAAADDDYY????" she shouted. "YYYEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!" The men shouted, while Crowe nodded in anticipation. Ok, you got it. She worked the ball loose with her vagina muscles. TWAANNGGG!! --* THWACK *-- Right into the testicles. While the others were almost doubled up in laughter, Crowe was bent over from a different sensation. Obviously not in much condition for anything, he staggered back to the sidelines. Poetic justice, you Bastard, Hudson mused. This made up nicely for the tricks you did to me on Arcturius, he thought. The Blonde selected Wierzbowski this time. He wasn't happy AT ALL, but reluctantly went out at her insistence. Drake lent a helping hand, or a helping shove. Down went his trousers, then his underwear. She pushed him down to the floor and pulled them off completely. "Thats the most shrunken pair I've ever seen", someone shouted at the embarrassed soldier. Ignoring the lewd remarks, she sat on his face before bending forward and fondling him until he was properly erect. On with the condom, then down she went with her mouth. They sixty-nined briefly, everyone being treated to a good view of her wide spread pussy being tongued, before she stood again, turned around to face the assembled men, and sat on Wierzbowski's cock. A few of the soldiers gasped, watching Wierzbowski's rod disappearing into her trimmed pussy. Quickly she built up a rhythm, her hair and little breasts bobbing up and down with her motion. His hands went up to fondle her breasts while one of hers pulled her vagina lips wide so the assembled throng could have a clear view of the cock moving in and out. He quickly came, and she climbed off. She dressed and tidied herself, staying for a chat and a few drinks before leaving. The orders arrived a day later and they shipped out, but that was one party Hicks and the others never forgot. The repair section of the Hyperdine factory where Bishop lay was lit with antiseptic fluorescent lighting. The sounds of distant machinery and technicians chattering amongst themselves were the only things that had changed in the last few days. The conversation was around him, about him, but little was directed at him. Occasionally he was asked to move an extremity and he'd send the requisite light pulses, but mostly he was just another piece of defective machinery they didn't pay much attention to. Partway through the second day things sped up when the technicians finished wiring him back up and the engineers took over to weld his joints and finish sealing him. Someone entered his line of sight. "Okay Bishop, gimme a low pressure coolant test... yep, good... go to high pressure... no leaks, everythings sealed. Okay, relax. I'll laz-seal the skin then you're finished. Someone did quite a job on you, didn't they?" "Not a person, a 30 foot unclassified organism", Bishop corrected the engineer. The engineer grinned. "You'd fool anyone who didn't know you were synthetic. It's a pity your model only have circumstantial humour though. If I'd been in charge it'd be different, but I suppose the military wouldn't approve. Thats why I chose engineering instead of programming." "My model?" "Oh, you don't know of course. You've been superceded by the 600. They're brilliant. You're programmed to be an individual, but they decide on their own little habits. We play 'spot the synthetic' with a volunteer and a 600, and fail statistically. I didn't know they could pack that level of holo-CPU into that little space. Thats still confidential by the way, but you won't talk - thats one thing I like about working with synthetics. And don't worry, the 600 is bloody expensive and gets bored with longhaul jobs so you won't be replaced." "I'm glad I don't work for Hyperdine then. I see I don't have many secrets here." "Sorry about that. We have to know all the tics; fault diagnostics and all that." The faint buzz of the engineers low-power welder started on his right side and began working its way over to the left. From all reports, if he did a good job it'd leave hardly a mark. "Oh... I think I should warn you that you're in for a grilling. ICC Company people are calling every hour, on the hour, wanting to know when you can talk to them. One implied I didn't know my job because you weren't ready yet. I told him to come here and see if he could do any better. He disconnected. What would you have done?" "Most likely I'd just let it go over my head. Keep my options open, so to speak." "It's not like that with people. You're conservative and inoffensive, but nobody who knows you takes you lightly. I'd love to see him try it with a 600, you can work up a good argument with one of those." People. I'll never understand them as long as I'm functional, Bishop thought. Put a hundred synthetics in a high-stress situation and they'll all do the most logical thing. A hundred humans would likely do as many things, ranging from panic to violence. "What are the company people after?" "They're not much for conversation, but one said he was after information about the organism you encountered." "I'm afraid they may be disappointed. The mature form is unapproachable, and I didn't have the right equipment to study the biochemistry of the immature form." "Interesting beastie. Remind me to stay away from them, will you? Turn onto your left side, could you.... thanks. Tough bastard, to do this sort of damage. Did you go out to fight them?" "Sorry, I can't talk much. Military secrecy and all that." "Fair enough. Okay, finished there. Now lets do the right side... thank you." "I'd like to meet the 600 model." "Sorry, I can't take you to one, and I seriously doubt you'll be able to spot one. The few people who have them so far don't want it known." "The list of owners is classified, I assume?" "Right. Hell, we wanted to know ourselves but theres absolutely no way. We'd be interested to see who'd prefer one over a Human employee." The sound of the welder stopped. "You're finished. It's quite good, if I may say so myself. You can hardly tell. The area around the wound will look a little sunken for a few days, but that'll disappear with your normal lubricant intake. Up you get, Bishop. Take better care of yourself in future, won't you?" "Thanks, I will." "Not a problem, Bishop. I'll tell the company guys you're ready. Give 'em hell for me." A little worse for wear, Bishop got off the work platform and went to an interview room to await the Company execs. He didn't have to wait long. The day of the inquiry arrived. Ripley struggled out from the Hammock she'd strung between two supports. As easy as it was to be tipped onto the floor during the night, it was still way preferable to the other option. Bill had turned up the day before to pick up her neatly printed statement for the board to dissect in advance. Newt was left with a friend from the cargo dock for the day. Ripley expected the inquiry to last all day and maybe the next. She remembered the continual niggling questions, discussing the same points, over and over again. There wasn't any reason for this one to differ, and she mentally prepared for the worst. There was a little surprise waiting outside the conference room, in the form of executive officer Bishop, who was chatting with Hicks as if nothing had happened. They made smalltalk until Bill turned up. "Hello Bill. Who've we got in there? This'll be straightforward, yes?", Ripley queried. "Straightforward - no. Hello Mr Hicks, Bishop - good to meet both of you in person. You're a quick healer I see, Mr Hicks? Okay, business. I only know what I've been told, but a lot more people are involved than Ripleys last time. Every day more people have been showing up wanting to ask questions. It's going to take some time, sorry. First it was the company, the Feds and the insurance people, then the military showed up. They're mad as hell about the Colony, of course. Publicity like that, the colonisation program can do without. They're all going to be trying to pick holes in your stories. Remember, the tapes are only cover part of what transpired on Acheron." "Thats encouraging. Well, I'm used to it", Ripley answered. "Not many people have the privilege of attending two inquiries" Bill added, trying to lighten the mood. "Thats one honour I could do without" "Yes, well, just tell them what happened, keep your patience, and you'll do fine. Sorry I can't help you in there, but I'm on your side if that helps." They were ushered in. Well well, some things hadn't changed while they were away, she thought. Van Leuwen was still in charge of official executions. Well, he was out of luck this time. "This court of inquiry, into the total loss of the main colony complex and an atmosphere processor on Acheron, is now in session", Van Leuwen began. "Please note that Mr Burke was acting by himself and outside of his instructions when he issued company order Six Twelve Nine, which Ms Ripley brought to our attention. As Mr Burke is presumably deceased, his alleged actions will be the subject of internal investigation, which is not the scope of this court. Proceed." "Alleged?", Ripley scoffed. "What's he talking about?", Hicks whispered urgently. "Burke sent the colonists to the alien ship that brought those bastards to Acheron, and he didn't even warn them first. I couldn't tell you then because your soldiers wouldn't have thought twice about bumping him off." "Shit! He was responsible for that? Too right, I'd have made him a permanent fixture of the APC." Yeah, and be up on a murder rap. No, Ripley was right. He'd have been worse off alive when the authorities got their hands on him. An hour later they weren't so confident in the outcome. "Mr Hicks, we have the following on tape; Your field commander ordering you to cease fire so he could hear the withdrawal order. Yet your soldiers ignored this order and continued Automatic weapons fire, in a confined space near an thermonuclear plant, soldiers from whom their ammunition was sequestered for safety reasons. It looks like flagrant disregard of orders and blind panic." "With all due respect, Sir, you weren't there. Those things were camouflaged with the wall. They started coming out of the walls and killing my men." "Are you offering an excuse for blind panic and ignoring orders that would have saved your mens lives?" "Sir, thats not what happened." "Thats what it looks like on the tapes. Tell us what they were doing, then." "Trying to stay alive. Nobody tried to run, we were watching each others backs. We had never run into anything like this before. Those things were fast, totally silent and blended in perfectly until they moved. They didn't even show up on Infrared. We were taught that nothing living can hide itself from IR. If you turned your back on anything, it jumped on you. No matter what we did, we were being decimated. We ignored Lieutenant Gormans orders because if we had carried them out, none of us would have had any chance at all." "So you admit to ignoring a superiors orders?" "With good reason, yes." "If you had obeyed his withdrawal order, 11 of your men might still be alive." "The whole thing might have been avoided if he had followed Ripleys advice and withdrawn us the moment her story was validated, and returned our ammunition when we faced imminent attack. He did neither." "Thats not the point." "Then what is?" "Corporal Hicks, the point is that wilful disobedience in battle costs lives. It cost lives on Acheron. Lieutenant Gormans orders appeared sound until he realised they weren't being obeyed." "Apone was killed before he could organize a retreat, and we were cut off. Ripley can testify that Gorman froze when things came apart. Whatever way you look at it, he cost lives." "Corporal, How do you know some of the casualties weren't caused by friendly fire? The area was filled with smoke, a dozen soldiers nearby, with two heavy weapons and miscellaneous smallarms firing, including an illegal sidearm. Can you honestly say nobody could have been hit by friendly or ricochet fire? Hicks was impassive. "Corporal Hicks." "No, Sir." "Thank you. Now, after withdrawal you and the other soldiers are on tape discussing solutions to the problem on hand. Promptly you agreed with Ripleys suggestion of nuking the colony. Presumably this would have been carried out had things not gone further wrong. There were perfectly reasonable alternatives on hand you could have considered. Withdrawing to await heavier weapons. Chemical attack. You could have consulted higher authority and had a reply in 2 days. Why did you decide to ignore all procedures at the spur of the moment?" "We were the people on the spot. With biochemistry that weird, they might have snorted any chemicals we threw at them. They took us to pieces, the odds are the result would have would have been the same no matter what weapons we had. They weren't going to wait; god knows how far they could have gotten in a few days. I made a judgement call and decided to be SURE there wouldn't be a single one of those bastards for someone else to find. I felt the use of nuclear force was warranted." "And thats another thing. Even if nuclear force was justified for the colony, Ripley, why did you take it upon yourself to drop a nuclear device on the alien ship? To start with, you're fully aware that mankind has never yet met another space travelling species. It would have been absolutely, utterly, invaluable to science. Properly trained and briefed people could have studied that ship. Secondly, nuclear weapons are expensive pieces of hardware requiring very high authority for their use. There are procedures in place to ensure their proper use. Did you think to discuss it with anyone first?" "She did", Bishop piped up in her defence. "I thought her decision was entirely in line with what we'd seen and learned, otherwise I wouldn't have given her the launch codes." "But the alien ship was a different matter. If any aliens were present there, they were in a dormant state, otherwise the colonists wouldn't have made it back to the colony. You seem to have a habit of taking expensive company property very lightly. Thank you, Ripley. I can assure you this WILL be taken into consideration when the panel decides on returning your license." And on it went, all day and part way through the next. One niggling, irritating questioner after another trying to transform company liability into personal liability. Just when Ripley felt near the point of exploding, Van Leuwen decided the inquiry wasn't going to advance any further, and sent them outside while they considered the verdict. The whole thing was a sham, Ripley felt. She had a horrible feeling the company was going to try to paper over the facts. If they tried, she'd go straight to the media. That was, if there was a single independent source anywhere prepared to speak against the company and risk a lawsuit thrown their way to harass them into silence. An hour later they were back. "It is the judgement of this court that Corporal Dwayne Hicks has acted improperly and beyond his authority. Furthermore, that you failed in your duty to maintain the required level of military discipline, and in view of the seriousness of the outcome you are hereby reduced to the rank of Private and suspended until such time that you're considered fit for duty. All relevant material to this case is sealed indefinitely, for the good of the public." He stood through every agonizing moment, before calmly and deliberately turning on his heels and striding out without a word. Nobody called him back. "Ellen Ripley, your conduct during this affair has been noted, and you will receive the boards decision on the return of your ICC license in due course." And that was that. All neat and tidy. By the book. Legal. Final. No right of appeal. In other words, keep your mouth shut, and there might yet be a future for you with us. Fuck you, she thought. She wasn't banking on false hopes. Not this time. The dirty work done, the officials started packing to leave. "Ripley, the memorial service for the Colonists and soldiers will be broadcast this afternoon, as soon as the relatives have been informed. You're invited to attend if you like", Van Leuwen added. She waited until the last official had left before returning to her apartment. Hicks returned to the Sulaco. The MP's on guard didn't challenge him for ID when he marched through the connecting airlock. They knew who he was and why he was there. In 2 days the vessel was shipping out with a new crew. Unlikely he'd ever see it again. His last job here was clearing out his locker, then it didn't matter. He'd find a station apartment and a temporary job until he was reassigned or worse. The bastards really knew how to twist stories around their chubby unworked corporate fingers. Company lies against his mens lives. The colonists lives. A few pieces of paper had thrown them all away without the slightest sign of human compassion. Hicks went to the common exercise room to let off steam, starting on bringing himself back to peak condition while he was about it. Then he showered and dressed in off-duty attire before watching Newscasts on the control deck, whiling away the hours before he had to be off the vessel. Ripley didn't really feel like it, but she hit the "on" stud on the TV to watch the memorial broadcast at about the same time as Hicks. The Company president himself was delivering the edict. No wonder. This reflected directly on everything he and his predecessors had fought for. "....The Colonists had no way of knowing there was a dormant alien virus on the planet. They came across it in the normal course of exploration, and all but one died as a result." WHAT!!?! Ripley stormed out and ran up the corridor, heading for the reception area. The job done, The Company president was striding quickly down the corridor away from the Media. He despised coverage, more so actually being on Camera. Far better to pull the strings from above and give people other faces to see. As always, he was escorted by his chubby little Lawyer. Today he also had his new Secretary, Vanessa, walking in step with him. She was the quickest learner he'd ever known; he was training her up personally for the job. Averaging a few steps behind, were his faithful executive hangers-on. He was pleased with himself. He had a right to be, now that this unpleasant little affair was tidied up without a hitch. This way, anything that leaked could be ignored or written off as an unsubstantiated rumour, especially with every scrap of evidence locked securely inside the Company computers. Nothing could be allowed to interfere with the special projects, that was where his backup clout was. He was fully prepared to use any means fair or foul to advance them, no matter what. Directly ahead, the corridor took a right angle bend towards his office. An upset-looking woman had emerged from behind it, striding toward him. Nice looking Dame, he thought. Subtly he adjusted course to allow her to pass to one side. Instead, she grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall. "You Bastard! You think you can get away with murder like that?" she shouted at him before his executives pounced and dragged her clear. "Who's this?", he contemptuously demanded while brushing the imagined grime off his suit. Ripley got an arm free. The stinging, open handed slap crackled in the hallway. There was a moment of stunned silence before his minders got a firmer hold and pulled her further away. "She's the one from the Sulaco. Don't take action against her, it wouldn't look good", Roberts lawyer advised. "And let the Bitch get away with that?" "In court she could say anything relevant to the case in her defence. I can't advise strongly enough to let it slide." Shit. For once he was in a fix. "Let her go", he finally said. Reluctantly they did so. Ripley shook free and strode off in the opposite direction. At least she'd made her feelings known, for what it was worth. The President looked to Vanessa for support. It wasn't forthcoming. "Don't look so surprised, you backed her into a corner with no exit and she fought back. It wasn't so unexpected." "You're an associate, you're supposed to be on my side." "Business, yes. That was personal, and I'm staying out of it. You've said many times I've got a mind of my own. Let me use it, will you?" "Don't you ever get mad at anyone? It helps." "Maybe it does. I wouldn't know." Ouch. He hadn't expected Vanessa to sting like that. Her loyalty was unquestioned though; he'd let her have her way. She was an invaluable asset to his work. Actually, while he was in the mood, there was another job to do... Bishop was standing not far off. He'd observed this byplay in silence. One advantage of being an Android was, he could process sound input and as a result, hear far better than humans. What he couldn't understand was; what did the presidents associates whispering amongst themselves mean by 'A bit of fluff on the side?' The President watched Ripley calmly striding away without so much as an afterthought or a look back. "I want that bitch", he said to nobody in particular. "Maybe I can help you with that", Bill piped up. "I'm listening, Bill." "She's about to get her commercial flight license back." "We'll see about that. People don't live on gateway unless they work here. What does she do?" "She's in the cargo docks, running forklifts and stuff" "She's fired." As an afterthought to the lawyer, "Is it safe?" "Call it... 'Labor restructuring' or something and she can't prove anything." Right, this had gone far enough, Hicks decided. The time for talk was over. Engineers and welders were busily restoring the interior of the vessel. A new dropship had been installed. A senior officer and a few men were inspecting the Sulaco; their new home. He ignored all of this and went straight to his locker. Bag. Open locker. Clothing, Souvenirs from a dozen worlds, a womans jewellery, exotic cigarettes and a lighter tumbled into the bag as they spilled out. Four innocuous little packages remained. Plastic explosive. "For emergency use only", he muttered. He remembered Apones strict caution on the stuff. "Never, ever store it with detonators, or grenades. But always keep some in your emergency kit. It can't explode unless it's detonated. If you're lost and half frozen, throw some on a fire and it'll warm you up better than anything else. Strictly speaking, it's an offence to keep some, but use your heads about where you store your bit, and I'll overlook it." Well, he was grateful for Apone bending the rules for his mens benefit. Apone always put his subordinates first. He had relied on them every bit as much as they relied on them. Time to repay the favor. Hicks opened Hudsons locker. As expected, the Comtechs pigeonhole contained a minor arsenal of electronics. He was sure Hudson wouldn't have minded him taking some for what he had in mind. Scrupulously avoiding Hudsons personal effects, he sorted out what he needed. An electronic detonator and some det cord joined the plastique in his bag. At the last moment he added a selection of bugging devices and a few necessary tools and parts. Ripley barely had a chance to return to her apartment when her console began beeping for attention. "Hello?", she answered as she pressed the 'answer' stud. The Dockside manager. Ah, a big freighter was in and they needed her help unloading. "Hello Ripley... Ummm.. I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you", he said. "Go on." "I've been instructed that you are no longer working for us. I'm so sorry. It wasn't my choice, believe me. You're a good worker, you don't deserve..." "WHO instructed you?" "Some Company hotshot called Bill." "Bill?" "You know him? "I thought I did... Look... don't worry, I know it wasn't your fault. I know they went over your head." "Ripley... you deserve better than this." "Don't we all? I hope we cross paths again, you're good to work for. All the best for you and your family, Stephen." "Wheres Bills card? I'm gonna blister the bastards ears..", she began. Again, the console beeped for attention. "Ellen Ripley?", a security officer asked. "Yes?" "It's come to our notice that you are no longer employed on this station, and neither is your presence on this station required for flight duty. Therefore, we are compelled to order you to return to Earth within 48 hours. Do you have any questions?" She disconnected without a word. She wasn't needed here. That meant her contract was gone. The Company had won, it had taken her future. She had been naive to think she could make a dent in their plans, she saw that now. Justice in their eyes had nothing to do with protecting the innocent, it was about winning. But she'd tried. God, she'd tried. At least she had Newt. Although that was still far from final, they had each other for now. She could go peacefully on tonights shuttle, or she could wait a few days and make a scene when the security people turned up. No, she'd go tonight. She'd been manhandled enough, and she wasn't exposing Newt to that. And Dwayne? She'd contact him afterwards, it was better that way. It wasn't like she had nothing, she still had a perfectly acceptable set of skills for work on Earth. But not with an ICC-owned company or a subsidiary. Even if she wasn't blacklisted, she'd refuse on principle to have anything to do with them. The door beeped for attention. Fuck off. A second time. Again, she ignored it. "Ellen, It's Dwayne. Are you in there?" Ripley pounced on the door, and literally dragged him through the doorway. He fell into her arms, dropping the laden bag at her feet as she pulled the door shut behind them. "I know", he said. "I know what they did. To you, to me. And the bastards are getting away with everything." "This was only ever meant to be a short term job, but it's all I had. Now it's gone. Everything I've worked for is gone." Ripley looked like she wanted to cry. Hicks pulled back. "No! Don't let them have the privilege. Consider their hatred to be a badge of honour." Despite herself, Ripley smiled. "Do you always know what to say to make someone feel good?" "No, I fake it most of the time. A soldier has to look like he's got everything covered. To look cool, you understand." In his arms she felt warm, comfortable and wanted. This was the closest she had gotten to him. On Acheron she had felt his warm body against her as he instructed her in the use of a pulse-rifle. Then, it had been innocent and purely necessary, and she remembered mentally struggling to not edge closer to him. Now, it was shared and personal. Silence. Their eyes met. Neither looked away. Hicks felt a sudden twinge of guilt, thinking he was getting a little familiar, and pulled back a few inches. Not this time, she was having none of it. "No... hold me, please", Ripley pleaded. Relieved that the feeling was mutual, he pulled close again. "Is it true, a soldier has a girlfriend at every port?", she asked. "I've had my share. I won't try to hide the fact." "You're honest too. I like that. Hicks..." He knew what was next. "Yes?" "Make love to me." "You're sure?" "I need it, right now." With one swift movement he scooped her up into his arms. Hicks was grateful for the years of physical training that helped him to easily carry Ripley's unresisting form over to the bed. "I take that to mean 'yes'?" "How long have we got?", Hicks replied. Ripley glanced at the wall clock. "3 hours before Newt comes back." "Good. I want to take my time and make you feel good. Okay?" "Yes, oh, yessss....", Ripley begged. She lifted her butt off the bed while he pulled her trousers off, then undid her shirt from the bottom up. He could plainly see a few dark hairs poking out of Ripleys skimpy white underwear, and barely restrained himself from slipping a finger underneath immediately. Her firm proud breasts with big dark Areolae were visibly aching for attention as he released them from hiding. "Close your eyes, Love. Just lie back and relax", Hicks asked. He found what he was looking for, a spare sheet. He swept it over her near-naked body, covering her from neck to toe. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled it down her body whilst holding it low to maintain body contact. He repeated this two more times. As expected, by the third time she was visibly relaxed. Another few more times and she'd likely nod off. "Where did you learn that? It's wonderful", she murmured. "A former girlfriend taught me that. It really works, doesn't it?", he answered, as he started massaging his was up her leg. Ripley know what was coming as his soothing hands closed on her crotch, and she spread her legs slightly to allow access. The higher he got, the warmer her flesh became. Yes, there was no doubt about it now, he could see a faint but distinct moistness on her panties as he homed toward them. Finally Ripley felt a finger ease under the band, and groaned loudly when the finger reached her crack and started moving up and down. Hicks responded by lifting a leg further out of the way and bending down for a closer look. He lifted the band of her panties to one side, away from her moist crack, before planting a kiss on the inner lips. "I liked the tongue... more, please?" Ripley put her legs together so Hicks could pull her undies down and off using the fingers inside them, then spread her legs wide again for their mutual pleasure. The hardon in his pants was almost painful now, and it took some ignoring as he set to work pleasuring Ripley. The luxurious, untrimmed Black pubic hair was a delight to explore. He pulled the hair aside and parted the outer lips. Wet, willing, pinkness was exposed as he did so. He kissed her thighs, and started kissing his way closer and closer to where she wanted his tongue. She thought she would scream when he got there; miraculously she didn't when she felt the first flick of his tongue on her shiny, wet, erect clitoris. He knew she wouldn't last long with his oral expertise; the fun lay in prolonging the delightful torture and bringing her off as loudly as he could. Around and around, up and down her wide, wet slit went his tongue. He would slowly roll her clitoris around before lashing it momentarily, then easing off to orally explore the rest of her cunt. He dipped the tip into her vagina and pushed it in as far in as it would go. The effort was rewarded by the sweet, salty taste of her upwelling lubrication. A finger went to the entrance of her cunt and swirled its way inside, deeper and deeper until it was in to the hilt. While probing around inside, he planted his mouth over as much of her slit as possible and sucked hard while licking the ever so exposed clitoris. Oh, Fuck that felt good! Determined to make sure their lovemaking didn't end for any reason, Ripley wrapped her legs around his neck and rested her feet on his back. There, you're trapped now, Hicks. Now eat me.. eat me... eat me all night long... Her former husband had called her a mantrap on several occasions before things went sour. He'd meant it several ways. A second finger joined the first in probing and plumbing her insides. Oh Jeez, how long had it been since she'd had a cock for herself? Two years? Three? Long Dormant feelings exploded inside Ripley and she mentally begged him for more and more of what he was doing. Little by little he was spending more time concentrating on her clit. The fingers inside her cunt withdrew, bringing with them a thin stream of lubricant and juice that dribbled obscenely down between her outstretched legs, before he massaged all around her cunt, finding and warming all the sensitive parts she liked to touch on the rare occasions these days when she was alone and in the mood. One of the few things she'd always been consistent about was her personal hygiene, even after the Nostromo flight when she had far more pressing concerns. She was glad for that now; Hicks was plainly enjoying himself as he toyed with her private parts. There were only two parts he wasn't touching that she wanted him to touch, but both his hands were busy elsewhere. Her Breasts. She circled her nipples and Areolae with her fingers until they went erect. Hicks winked at her as she watched him nodding his head to keep up the pleasure-giving while resting his tongue. He took hold of her left leg and pulled it off him so he could quickly change position, this time coming at her slit from the side. He planted his mouth over as much of the slit as possible and sucked... Hard. Ripley groaned, louder than last time. While maintaining the regular suction he lashed the full length of her cunt over and over before settling on working her clitoris to bring her off. She took hold of the back of his head and pushed it closer to her crack. Harder lover, harder. More... more... she mentally pleaded as he gave her cunt a tongue bath. He reponded by lashing her clitoris with his tongue nonstop until he slowed from tiredness. He obviously enjoys this, Ripley thought. Well, it's YOUR turn next, just as soon as you bring me off. Now she was approaching the brink and he knew it. He saw the increase in lubricant in her cunt and felt the slight tremors in her body, the harbingers of orgasm. She might turn nasty if he tried prolonging her pleasure much further, so he frantically licked her clit nonstop. Suddenly her legs closed around his head as she groaned loudly. He didn't stop, but kept on licking, riding her until the pleasure turned to discomfort. Finally Ripley subsided and relaxed, allowing him to escape. "You'll have to give me a minute to rest, Hicks. Massage me until then, could you?" "Sure." Hicks helped turn Ripley onto her stomach and began massaging her sweat streaked body, starting with her shoulders and working over her back. "Are you going to stick with the army, now they've taken you down?", she asked. "It's the only thing I ever wanted to do. I'm suspended as you know, so I'll look for a place to stay until they figure out what to do with me." "You've found one." "Pardon?" "They've ordered me off the station as you know. We're leaving tonight." "That soon?" "The sooner I'm away from them, the better. Tell me about Army life, could you? I was tempted to join, years ago." "Well, it's not that glamorous. Theres little in the way of actual fighting. We're odd-job people, mostly. Our usual job is killing whatever bugs are giving some dumb colonists a hard time. A few times we've been sent in to back up the local police in disputes. Half the time it's just locals trying to get independence from the company. We don't know who's in the right then, but we do our job anyway." By now his soothing hands had reached her bottom. Ohh... Ripley liked that. She felt herself getting randy again, and turned over for more action. She pulled down his zipper and exposed his manhood. With both hands she started fondling his cock and balls. "He's getting harder... he's getting harder... he's getting harder...", she began, smiling broadly. The sudden warm wetness around his cock took Hicks by surprise, as Ripley undid his shoelaces with a free hand and flicked them and his trousers off. Rhythmically she fondled his balls while sucking and going up and down on his cock. "For a woman nearing a hundred, you're good at what you're doing", he joked. Ripley stopped and looked at him. "Dwayne, I have some VERY sensitive parts in my hands. You DO want to keep them, don't you?" Presently she returned to fellating Hicks. Mmmmmm... He had MONTHS worth of cum filling his balls... If she kept up what she was doing, she was going to find out all about it. Ripley was now sucking, moving her mouth up and down the length and jerking him off all at the same time. He spread his legs further to allow better access to his balls for her free hand. She immediately obliged. It wasn't long before she started recognizing the signs he was close, and stopped. "Do you want me to continue and happily accept a faceful or a mouthful, or are you going to be a gentleman and fill me with that cock of yours?" "Are you protected?" "Yes, come on. I want you inside me." "How do you want it?" "I want to ride you. Lie back" Ripley climbed up on top, while Hicks began teasing her nipples. "Yes, keep doing that", she murmured as she slowly lowered herself onto his cock. For the first time in over two years Ripley felt a solid, warm erection spreading her wings and sliding inside. She started fucking it in and out, forcing more and more cock inside herself until she felt his pubic hairs brushing against hers. "Now you're all mine, Corporal. God knows I've wanted this for so long, and now I'm getting it", she said as she began moving. Mentally she was shouting out to Bill and the Company president... Fuck you! You can't stop me doing what I want. Take your stinking job and SHOVE IT! THIS is life, this is what it's all about. You don't know anything about it, all you know is your pathetic greed. Any women you get are screwing you for your money, not because they WANT IT. Take THIS, she shouted out loud in her mind, exorcising her anger as she impaled herself on Hicks cock again and again. Lust distorted her smooth face as she got into a regular rhythm with Hicks, bouncing up and down while he supported her heaving, trembling breasts in his hot hands. The only sounds in the room were the regular slapping of her thighs against his, their combined heavy breathing, and the faint, slick, sliding sound of two bodies in heat, united in wanton desire and lust. She felt the hard length slipping and sliding inside her and knew the sheets were going to be wet with their juices before they were finished. The resulting stain would be her going away present to remind Hicks of this afternoon. She reached behind herself to fondle his balls to help bring him off inside her. Hicks was getting close now, and he desperately wanted to make her come with him inside. He spotted just the thing he needed. "Oh Jeez thats good... Can I do something?", he asked. "Do whatever you like, but I'm getting tired. If you don't come soon you'll have to take over." "Come on. Bend down and hold me, and wrap your legs around me." Intrigued, Ripley did so. She hugged him while he swayed to one side then the other so she could wrap her legs around his hips. "Okay, hang on. I'm taking you across the room." "What for?", she asked. "You'll like it. Trust me." "Trust you? I hardly know you!", she cheekily replied. With a mighty effort he managed to push his way upright then stand up, his cock still deeply embedded in her. Holding her to him with one hand, he grabbed a sheet off the bed and covered Ripleys back with it before walking over to the Hammock he'd spotted. He pulled the hammock open before laying her sideways across it, then put her legs over his shoulders to complete what he had in mind. "Comfortable? We can go for hours like this without getting tired", he said as he resumed fucking her. This time the only contact between them was her legs and his cock. He was standing upright on the floor. Each time his cock pounded into her, her thighs met his and they bounced apart. Gravity brought them back together of course, and he only had to move forward to increase their fucking speed. Ripley only had to lie back on the Hammock and enjoy the ride. "Shit. I never thought of this. God, it's nice though", she commented. He responded by putting his right hand down to where they were united and started playing with her Clitoris. She liked that. A little later, she was trembling, eyes closed, totally engrossed in the pleasure she was receiving. Lets try something else, he thought. He paused his movement, and put his left forefinger next to his cock, then slowly slid it into her cunt alongside his cock. That woke her up. "What the hell is that?", she asked out loud when she felt her cunt being stretched wider than any of the few cocks she'd ever known Oh... she realised when she saw both of his hands at work on her cunt at once, while his cock was just visible as it slid in and out. She could see and feel his balls slapping against her thighs. At once she was surprised and turned on more than ever by the sexy sight. That in turn ignited the flame in her cunt again. "Oh, fuck! Don't you DARE stop now. Fuck am I gonna come, Hicks." Then she started groaning from pleasure, and she hadn't even come yet. Moments later she saw Hicks jaw drop open and his head tilt back as he started cumming inside her. He went crazy, slamming his cock harder and harder into her as he came. Ripley actually felt the sudden warm splash as the long-stored semen emptied into her. That sent her over the edge, and she cried out as another and yet another spurt coated her insides. Her muscles contracted around his cock, and that sent him high again just as his orgasm started to end. Shivering and crying out in shared pleasure, Hicks finally slumped into her arms. "Lie on me, please... Just don't try to climb in as well or we'll tip off", Ripley gasped. Slowly they calmed down and cooled off together. "Well Dwayne, I'm sorry but you've failed your physical. You're going to have to start again from scratch", she cheekily said. Hicks grinned. "I would, but you've worn me out. Give me a break first and we will." They transferred again to her bed so Ripley could massage Hicks back while they talked about their respective plans for the future. The next hour was spent talking, drinking, embracing and kissing in bed. A good half hour before Newt was due back Hicks showered and dressed before leaving so he could make a more discreet entrance later in the evening when Newt was around, to stay the night in the hammock. When he was gone Ripley tidied the place up a little and folded the sweat, female juice, and semen-stained sheet out of sight. Ripley booked by vidphone two seats on tonights U.S return flight and hunted out the Catbox for Jonesy, before packing her meagre possessions into two cases. She'd just finished when Newt returned from the friends place she'd been at during the days of the Court martial cum inquiry cum execution. Immediately the 11 year olds nose turned up. "Mommy, whats the smell?" What smell? Oh... the previous frantic lovemaking was still discernible in the air. Oops. Maybe someday I'll tell you about it, Newt. "Oh, nothing, Newt. I've been working and packing. We're booked on a flight down to Earth tonight." Newt was ecstatic at the news, as she expected. She'd save the full explanation for their departure for when they were on Earth soil again. As planned, shortly afterwards Hicks turned up again, his possessions in hand. After a good-sized meal (her last of artificial food, hopefully) Newt and Ripley slept together fitfully on the bed while Hicks had the hammock, until the alarm went off an hour before their departure time. She cleaned the scratches Jonesy left on Hicks's arm before the feisty feline was safely confined in his box, then probably for the last time, Ripley and Hicks cuddled and held each other when the time came to leave. Bill was waiting by the airlock. What? Oh, good. Get ready for an earful, you Bastard. Sleep was evident on his face. This obviously wasn't a courtesy call. Well, she'd repay the favour in kind. "I'm here to see you off, and thats all. Don't expect any sympathy. You brought this on yourself, Ripley." "Newt, go ahead. You'll only have to show your ID to get in. Try and grab a pair of window seats. I'll join you in a minute." "Okay." When Newt was out of earshot, Ripley slowly turned her attention towards Bill. "You know, I'm really too tired to be bothered, but I know what you did. Your boss is a murderer and you're an accessory to the fact. He's the kind of guy who'd eat his own children if he was starving, and if you weren't busy wiping the shit off his chin all day long, you'd see what you're a part of..." "Now you hold it RIGHT THERE, Ripley!!" "SHUT UP! I haven't finished yet. I handed Burke, your predecessor on Acheron, a grenade down in the tunnels. He begged me for it when he felt the alien growing inside him. If he'd gotten his precious specimens back, you wouldn't have had it that easy when someone made a mistake and it got loose, and sooner or later it would have. You're nothing but a PARASITE, and you bet your arse your boss knows it. Someday he'll get bored with you and flick you off just as easily, and you'll be left with nothing except your high and mighty clothes. He's probably got a speech all prepared for the occasion." Ripley lifted the shoulders of his suit with her fingertips to demonstrate the point, before continuing. "The people you've spat on will walk all over you, and you'll end up just another nobody. And I'll be the first in line to wipe my shoes on you." Bills face had slowly turned livid, and now he rounded on her. "You underestimate him. He looks after his protege's. You'll never get anywhere, you never see the opportunities in front of you and you never go with the flow. If you'd done that you'd have been sitting pretty. You think you're someone special? You were never anything except a tool working for us as long as you were useful. You and you alone brought this on yourself. Now... GET OUT of here!" "Wrong. He's on a power trip, and theres no better way to show it than throwing someone away. Think about that, when it happens to you." "I think you'd better leave." "You're right for once. Goodbye." The airlock between Gateway and the Shuttle closed behind Ripley and Newt, probably for the last time. Not that she cared much any more for station life. It was all very well to circle the earth a dozen times a day, but she longed for soil under her feet. The shuttle capacity was fifty, but barely 10 were watching the countdown to de-orbit, sleeping, or watching the view. With little more than the standard request to buckle in, the shuttle gently parted company with Gateway and drifted away. "We decelerate in 10 minutes and reenter the atmosphere in an hour. Drinks and Meals will be available at the landing site. Please remain strapped in your seats and follow the zero-gee regulations displayed on the screen in front of you. Have a nice trip", the pilot announced. Newts stomach jumped when she experienced zero-g for the first time, but that soon passed. Most of the passengers around them were nodding off. After all, it was nearly 2am now. Neither resisted the drowsiness brought on by zero-gee. Ripley was regaining her appetite after the events of the last few hours. Food.. yes. food. No matter how much recycling the station fare received, she could still tell it from the real thing. After so many months her taste glands were in for a delightful surprise. And there it was. Hot Corn on the cob covered with real butter, sliced Ham, home grown potatoes and vegetables, spoonfuls of meat. Yummy! She didn't wait to savour the aroma but got stuck in, wolfing down huge mouthfuls. The juicy stuff going down her throat filled an appetite she'd almost forgotten. "Hey Ripley, save some for us!" Parker said as his hand whipped the meal away. Indignant, Ripley was about to deliver Parker an earful when she realised where she was. The Nostromo's mess. She looked up. Dallas, Lambert, Brett, Parker, Kane and Ash were regarding her angrily. "Sorry", she said, embarrassed at what she'd done. "You could have waited for us, instead of skiving off from work", Dallas grumbled. "Never there when theres work to do", Parker muttered. Slowly the atmosphere relaxed and became convivial again. Long gone conversations were resumed. Parker and Brett haggling over the bonus situation with Dallas, threatening to go to higher authority. Lambert was stoically silent; she never had much to say. Like most of the others, she was on a work contract taking her far from the pressures of Earth. Scant years before, she'd met her dream man at the University party. Months later they married, far too young, she realised that now. Promptly she became pregnant with Amy, and that was when the trouble began. They started arguing over the most trivial things, and they suffered each other for ten long years before finally, bitterly, separating. Amy was so upset she didn't want to stay with either parent. Out of respect for her and to give things a rest and a little distance, she accepted the contract. She easily fitted into the crew, they had a lot in common. The only taboo subject of discussion was their backgrounds. They all showed in little ways a wish to leave their respective pasts alone for awhile; like addressing themselves by their sirname and not the given name. First names reminded them of pasts best forgotten. Then she noticed that Ash kept glancing toward Kane, as if he was expecting something. Suddenly she knew what was coming. Her scream echoed through the mess as she jumped up and tried to run. But her legs wouldn't move. Behind her, Kane's sudden agonized choking only confirmed what she already knew. "Now whats wrong, Ripley?", Dallas asked. "Damned emotional woman. How did she get stuck with us?" Parker sneered. "GET OUT! Get to the lifeboat, before it kills you all!" The mocking laughter failed to dim Kanes screams. Finally she cleared the mess-room door. She just couldn't get her legs to move, they were like lead. She wanted to cry, but foremost in her mind was the lifeboat, she had to get off the ship before it was too late. "What the hell? Oh, jesus!" Someone finally noticed Kanes condition. The sudden inhuman screaming from the mess overtook her, punishing her for trying to escape. Kane fell out the door into her line of sight as she looked back, clutching his chest as the ugly red stain spread out from his sternum, accompanied by the sounds of flesh tearing and bone popping as the abomination within fought to escape and chase her. The gravity and light level in the corridor began to increase, as the sudden pressure across her chest and the unendurable pain began. The Alien within pushed past his agonized, clutching fingers as he fell forward. The bloodied, gray snakelike thing that emerged from the ragged hole in his sternum immediately caught sight of her and started wriggling towards her... Ripley awoke with a rush, to the darkened but familiar interior of the shuttle. Newts arm was across her chest, as the little girl huddled sideways within her seat restraints for warmth. Outside, a bright orange glow was spreading back from the base of the shuttle as it hurtled through the atmosphere on its re-entry path. --------------- Ripley and Newt moved into a San Francisco apartment block within hours of landing on Earth. The next day Newt was booked into school while Ripley went job hunting. With her skills she quickly landed herself with another sinecure loading job. As with the station dockside job, her first impression was that her boss and co-workers were surprised at a woman driving loaders and forklifts, but their standoffish attitude shortly vanished when she proved herself capable and a quick learner. Several weeks afterwards things were becoming more settled. Ripley had nearly forgotten her uprooting from the station whilst establishing herself again. She couldn't do anything about that - and the people who could, obviously wouldn't - so she tried not to so much as let it cross her mind. Ripleys father unknowingly summed it up neatly for her years before he died. "Ellen, if you don't get rid of your past, you die a little each day." Ripley had gone through the full range of emotions and changed beyond measure in the last few years. The naive divorcee had changed into a strong willed woman. With that bitter knowledge also came the wisdom to keep her heart and mind open for what lay ahead. There was a future here, she just had to find it. And someday she'd peel back the layers of toughness in one of the hombres she worked with sufficiently to marry him. She was alive and kicking despite the Company's best efforts; surely that counted for something in the scheme of things. For now, there was work and finding her own little niche in society. Her time would come again. Newt seemed to be settling in without a fuss and coming to terms with losing her family, in her own way. The shell she'd retreated into on Acheron was still there if you looked at her the right way, but that would fade in time. She seemed a box of birds about school and never grizzled in the slightest, so the vidphone call took her by surprise one evening. "Ms Ripley?" "Speaking." "Hello, I'm Miss Lindsay. I'm the guidance counsellor at Rebeccas school. How are you?" "Fine, thank you. Hows Newt... Rebecca settling in?" "Good, very well, in fact. I'm calling to ask for your advice. No, she's not in trouble." "Go ahead." "Well, She's a fine, very mature girl for her age and she expresses herself herself well, considering, but she seems reluctant to mix or socialize with people. One girl has been trying very hard to be friends with Rebecca, but she keeps distancing herself. I have her background on record of course, but my feeling is that her behaviour is more consistent with guilt than loss. Is there something I should know, so I can talk to her about it?" Ripley thought this over for a minute. "Hmmm, Maybe I should give it a try first. She's never talked much about Acheron, even to me. I was letting her come around to it in her own time, but I'll give it a try when she comes home." Miss Lindsay looked thoughtful, then agreed. When Newt arrived home, Ripley sat her down for a chat, and mentioned that people were concerned for her. "I realize you don't want to talk about what happened on Acheron, but I think maybe you should let it out of your system." "I don't know if I can..." "You don't have to if you don't want to, Newt. I'm not going to force you." Newt looked up from the floor, into Ripleys eyes. Slowly, Grudgingly, she began recalling her story. The colony of Acheron was definitely in the long-term investment category as far as the ICC company was concerned. From the outside the little planetoid was little more than a barren air-blasted, slightly oblate rock. Underneath was what made their heroic efforts to colonize this remote dirtball worthwhile. The initial robot survey craft discovered its surface gravity was a surprisingly high 86 percent that of Earth. Radar mapping of the permanently enshrouded surface revealed the distinctive patterns of fault scarping, indicative of a planet comprised almost entirely of metal. As it cooled during its early days it shrunk, and the outer layers of rock fell in to produce the observed faults. Barely a kilometer down in places was a valuable admixture of Iron, titanium and other metals. Between the Metal and rock was a layer of Coal, formed from Carbon baked out in the planetoids chaotic early days. That meant petrochemicals. The planetoid was one huge potential mine in the Company's eyes. That would never be the concern of the present Colony management, however. They wouldn't see this world opened up for mining. Their job was to make it livable and direct the resources poured onto this unpalatable little hole. Some fifteen years hence according to the climatologists, the reflective clouds would break to allow heat and sunlight from the unseen sun to reach the surface directly. Within months the Colony, situated near the planetary equator, would be luxuriating in a semitropical climate. The screaming winds would always be present as a result of Acherons unusually rapid rotation, but everyone was looking forward to that day. Until then they had to make do with liquid sunshine. Simpson and Lydecker were the Operations manager and assistant respectively. Simpson was respected by everyone for always putting in a good days slog. It showed in his perpetually sweat stained clothes. Lydecker cheerfully accepted the paperwork Simpson delegated his way but looked no less harried for it. The 157 Colonists they currently looked after had been carefully selected by personality and background to ensure the lowest possible level of personal conflict. Everyone was totally dedicated to family first, career second. Simpson and Lydeckers hardest job was ensuring their people always saw their efforts and sacrifices as worthwhile. Disenchantment in a locale this isolated would be simply disastrous. There were no soft bodies here - even the Children looked tough. But neither was there room for bullies; cooperation was the foremost thing on everyones agenda. Simpson was ex-army, and remembered with amusement the uniquely personal way this lesson was hammered home during training - in the process watching the "tough guys" coming down one step or twenty. In fact some of them fell down so bad it was really sad to see something like that. Some could take it and were trying to re-establish their image after a while - unsuccessfully, causing only more trouble for the rest of the men. Some made that with purpose to get sent home and they were. Cooperation was number one then, as it was now. If someone quarreled, the whole platoon, group, whatsoever in question was punished in a nasty way, like: "Because of this noise you have made, the enemy has spotted us. Now we need move to our secondary position, which is.... 15 km from here. We also need double the guards for the next two days in case the enemy sends reconnaissance patrols after us. We have only 5 minutes time to collect our stuff and be underway. ACTIOOON!" As a result, the men were in a triple hurry throughout the rest of the exercise because of the wasted time. So, the rest of the men REALLY thanked the one who caused that. The group leaders made sure the "guilty" was not the one who slept first... Very few cracked physically, if so, they got right out and into a bed. All of the incidents he saw were mental, the tough guys just couldn't live with the idea they have to a) obey b) be where they would not like to and c) were not able to affect the situation in any way. They couldn't live with the idea they weren't free any more and that there were others to consider, not just themselves. When they were exhausted physically, it only made the situation worse. It wasn't the physical, but the mental strength, that mattered then. The 'tough guys' invariably lacked the latter - was that why they have to play such a hard play, he wondered. Newt was a dashing little blond ball of life. She and her friends weren't old enough to take more than a cursory role in the colony, but efforts were always made that they be included in activities and odd jobs so they would learn early the meaning of responsibility. Her parents, Russ and Anne Jorden, were a Geologist and Biochemist, respectively. Most of the kids spare time was spent exploring the ventilation ducts and learning the way from one part of the colony to another, undetected. They would listen eagerly to the latest discoveries in the "monster maze" and dash off to see for themselves the newest area found. Newt, easily the smallest among them, squeezed into subpassages none else could and repeatedly beat her friends in races to get somewhere. Some responded by claiming she cheated and shouldn't be allowed to join in the game. One day she was exploring a subpassage near a well-travelled part of the ventilation system. She shinnied up a sudden steep slope which ended at yet another grille. Darkness was visible beyond. Well, there were ways around this problem, and shortly she popped it loose and pulled it in before peering out to see where she was. Yes! She knew this area well, it was a deadend passage she liked to hide in during games of hide and seek. The kids had noticed the grille above them in the dim light but not having the means to reach it they'd all but forgotten it. Newt heard voices coming her way and decided to be quiet. This little discovery she'd file away inside her head; it was unlikely anyone else could use it anyway. A boy and girl shortly appeared around the corner. The angle and the dim light made it difficult to identify them. They seemed older than herself but not by much, 12 or 13 years old she guessed. Newt noticed they seemed anxious not to be seen or heard, and were constantly listening for signs of anyone else. They relaxed and the Girl reached for the Boy. Moments later they were kissing, while above them Newt struggled to keep from giggling. Newts heart jumped when he reached up to fondle her small pert breasts. Instead of violently objecting as Newt expected, she sighed and reached for the bulge in his pants. The thought went through Newts mind, she shouldn't be watching, it was wrong, what they were doing was wrong, but she was frozen by a mixture of fear and excitement. She saw the Boy undo the top button on the Girls trousers and push his hand down her pants. Surely she would object now, and tell him to stop? Newt watched as he pushed his hand further into her pants until he must surely be able to touch her THERE. The Girl sighed and spread her legs to let him do what she'd been taught never to let anyone do. But if it was so wrong, why did it look so good? The Girl seemed to be really enjoying herself. Newt could plainly see his hand moving around in her trousers. With a quick movement she pulled her pants and underwear partway down, exposing his hand plumbing her hairy parts. Constantly listening out, she pulled his pants down also before they kneeled, legs part, to continue exploring each others forbidden parts. The few times Newt had glimpsed a boy without clothes on, she'd been repelled by the wrongness of what she'd seen. This was strange and wonderful and different. The hardness and sudden length of the boys cock took her by surprise. The girl didn't hesitate and immediately began stroking it up and down, only a few meters from Newt. Newt noticed he was holding a finger out and pushing it slowly in and out between the girls legs. She could see the tension in their movements increasing; there was no doubting they were engrossed in pleasure now. Watching the secret goings on below, there was a strange tingling excitement in the lower half of her body, but Newt didn't dare investigate in case they heard the movement. Suddenly he lay back on the metal floor and put his head and both hands between the girls legs. Newt glimpsed his face long enough this time to recognize him. She could see his face right up against her private parts, and knew he had to be having a good look. And the girl didn't mind in the least. Rather, she slumped a bit more to move closer to him and started moaning softly. Moments later her head tilted back almost far enough to look directly at Newt and she groaned quietly. Newt felt uncomfortable now. What was he doing that hurt her so much, and why was she letting him do it? The misconception was shattered by the girls whispering that she'd "come". He got up from under her and they kissed passionately again. If he'd hurt her, she sure as hell wouldn't be doing that to him. That left one option. They'd done something that felt good. Real good. But what was it? She'd overheard that expression in hurried whispered conversations between older boys that stopped before any girl got too close, but she'd assumed it was just idle, boring boy talk about nothing in particular. Now she knew it must mean something else. Newt could see his hard penis throbbing as the girl took it in one hand and his balls in the other and began stroking him again. He took on the same expression of expectant pleasure she had. She started moving her hands faster and faster over his private parts. Newt could hardly breathe, she was so excited at the sight. Suddenly there was liquid in the girls hands and he was moaning and tilting his head back as she had done. She didn't stop until he relaxed, then she wiped her hands on a handkerchief. Newts impression was that he had peed into her hands, but she couldn't smell anything except a faint sweaty odor. Quickly they tidied themselves then disappeared around the corner, the sound of their movement quickly fading away and leaving Newt alone in the cold tunnel. She backed out the way she'd come and quickly returned to the main corridor. At dinner that evening, Newt was subdued, deep in thought. She jumped when her Father spoke to her. Her Mother asked if something was wrong when she put her to bed later on. With the lights out, Newts mind was still alive. She couldn't sleep after what she'd seen. Again and again she recalled every moment of the furtive encounter she'd witnessed. Surely just touching each other 'down there' couldn't feel as good as it seemed. Even the forbiddeness of the whole thing couldn't be that good, if she was in the same position she thought she might feel excited but that was all. Idly she put her hand down across her unformed hips and between her legs. Newt was just starting to sprout a few pubic hairs, and the change made her uncomfortable. Before then she'd been unafraid to walk around naked in her bedroom or the bathroom, even when her brother Timmy walked in once - and straight out again when he saw his Sisters nakedness, which she thought strange as she didn't see anything to be ashamed of. Even her chest was changing, the buds were starting to swell and change shape, and all she wanted to do now was cover up. Cautiously, Newts fingers slipped between her legs, brushing past the few hairs until she encountered the tight lipped slit. It felt kind of naughty, touching herself down there, and she was content at first to rub her hand around. Before long she decided to explore herself better, and pushed a finger into the gap between the lips. An odd tingly feeling came over her as she touched herself where she'd seen the boy fingering the girl. At the base of the slit she found the entrance to a very tight hole, the one he must have been poking his finger into. She tried to do the same, and it hurt before she could get half the first joint inside. No, that didn't feel good, so Newt continued exploring herself. Her finger passed over the tiny proturbance near the top of her slit. A funny feeling came over her as the finger rubbed past it. Intrigued, she started rubbing up and down over it. The feeling intensified, but it wasn't painful in the least so she kept it up, slowly at first then faster. As the minutes went by it was feeling nicer and nicer, and she started rubbing the tiny button with the whole length of her finger, which promptly dipped on the downstroke into the wetness emanating from the hole. What is THAT??? the thought shot through Newts mind. Surely she hadn't peed herself? But no, it was definitely coming from her vagina. She forgot her clitoris for the moment as she explored the newfound wetness. To her surprise, the same finger fitted in past the first joint before it started to hurt again. She pushed harder, and a sudden tearing pain made her jump. It quickly passed, but she decided then and there to be more cautious in future. At least touching herself higher up didn't hurt so, and she went back to rubbing her clitoris as the dull pain ebbed in her vagina. This was starting to feel real good now, and she spread her legs wide to improve access to the parts she wanted to touch. Immediately she was lost in her private world of pleasure. All she could think of was the wonderful feeling coming from within herself. One hand held the lips open while a finger from the other touched herself right where she wanted to be touched. Suddenly the pleasure began increasing out of all proportion, and she let out a loud groan as it went beyond anything she had ever known or imagined. She never knew a person could feel so good and she didn't want it to end, but all too soon it did. "Newt, are you all right in there?", her Fathers voice called out. "Everythings ok, Daddy", she blurted out. "Okay, night-night then." The twin shadows of his feet under the door moved away. Suddenly drowsy and exhausted, Newt began falling asleep. That night her dreams were of fingers rubbing that wonderful spot for her and pleasure, endless pleasure. In the morning she got out of bed and was shocked to see a small (but big enough) bloodstain where she had been touching herself. She checked herself but found no sign of a wound or residual bleeding. Rather than answer awkward questions, she changed the sheets herself. After this discovery, Newt paid more attention to the stories she'd heard about such things. She listened to the stories the older girls told each other at their secret place in the tunnels, she read about her body and what had happened when she put her finger inside herself, and she started paying more attention to a few of the boys, hoping to have the chance to have a boy make her feel good in the same way. She didn't see the young couple again, but now it was perfectly obvious even to her what it was happening from the way certain of the older boys and girls disappeared without explanation for long periods of time. But she didn't stop learning the "monster maze", far from it, she kept on finding the nooks and crannies and beating everyone at races. One day she was in another new subpassage, near the medical section this time, and she went to the nearest grille to get her bearings again. Quietly she pulled herself towards it so as to not attract adult attention and the inevitable scolding for being in the Ventilation. Ahh... a Doctors examination room. That meant she was moving parallel to the main duct, and the other new branch she'd passed must come out somewhere near the Food storage areas. Goody! Somewhere else she could get to, undetected. She was about to retrace her steps when the door opened, and a Nurse followed by a slightly younger boy about 10, whom she knew by sight entered and closed the door behind them. Newt froze. Now she had to be really slow about getting out lest she be heard, or else wait until they were gone. She chose the latter. "Okay Martin, I have to scrape the skin on the infection to get a sample and identify it. Where is it?" the Nurse asked. "Ummm, it's a bit below the belt," he replied, red-faced. Oh... goody!!!, Newt thought. This would be the second time she'd get to see a boys privates closeup. "Well, don't worry. We get things down there all the time. Just take your pants down a bit, it won't take long", she assured Martin. Reluctantly he did so, and sat back on the examination table, straight across from the grille Newt was watching through. For the first time she saw every detail of a boy in full light. Newt drank in the sight of Martins smooth creamy hairless pubic region with the small soft dick and two big balls between his spread legs. There was something else, too. An ugly gray smear down one side. Obviously that was what he was here to have treated. The Nurse gently lifted his balls to check the skin underneath for more infection. "Ah, I think I know what that is, I've seen it before. It's dark, warm and moist there, which unfortunately makes it perfect for certain bacteria. This'll only take a moment." With a scraping instrument the Nurse rubbed the discoloured skin to obtain a minute sample which she placed in an analyser. Moments later the Bacteria was identified and the appropriate treatment detailed. While this was going on, Newt was memorizing every detail of what she could see and wishing she could touch him there and not get into deep trouble for doing so. She was disappointed when the Nurse okayed Martin to pull his pants up again. The Nurse left the room for a few seconds and returned with a tube of Ointment and a tablet. "Take this pill when you get home, and put this cream on the affected area for the next few days. That will take care of the infection. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Martin. It comes with the territory. Skin needs some sunlight and theres not much on this planet right now, so what I suggest you do is, you regularly book a private sunroom and sunbathe completely Nude. That will increase your skins resistance to this sort of thing." Newt suddenly realized what part of the administration block she was going to be exploring next... Some weeks later her parents Wedding anniversary came around again. Like most dates it was the perfect excuse for a little party to break the monotony of work. Russ and Anne Jordens friends and their families were invited around for drinkies while the kids played their little games. Frequently loud laughter at the climax of a joke among the adults would echo among the children playing in the next room. Newt was wearing her only miniskirt for the party. This was one of the few occasions she'd had the chance to wear it and she wasn't about to refuse the opportunity to display her tanned legs, slim as they were. She and her little circle of friends went away for a few minutes to her room, and upon their return noticed most of the other kids, even the older ones, were scrounging around for any extra clothing to put on. "What game are we playing?", Newt asked. "Spin the bottle", a girl replied. "And we're going right down to the SKIN", she continued. The two adults seated near the ten or so kids looked slightly surprised, but said nothing and allowed the preparations to continue unabated. In this community, openness was encouraged to prevent the buildup of personal tensions. With Children growing up so much faster out here on the wild Frontier the same principle applied, but this game the parents would keep an eye on to make sure things didn't get out of hand. The youngest Children were huddled in a tight group, leaving the older kids and the few teenagers present to make up the remainder of the circle. Their efforts to spread them out around the circle to even things up failed. After much haggling the game finally started after one of the teenagers volunteered to spin the bottle... and promptly lost. His Jersey came off. Brrrr... The next loser was one of the younger kids, and one of the copious pieces of clothing the little girl had scrounged came off. No shortage here, in comparison to the older people present. A 13 year old girl was the next loser. "Well, lick my fanny dry", she casually stated to the Adults surprise as she flicked her scarf onto the Carpet behind her. The older boys looked like they'd like nothing better - among them one boy who knew full well that attempting to lick HER fanny dry was an exercise in frustration. "Well, hurry up and we will", some smartarse retorted. "What do you think I am?", she replied as she whacked his arm for his trouble. "No, don't answer that" she continued. The parents overseeing the game nearly choked on their drinks. "Thats not very Ladylike", the Husband whispered to his Wife, just loud enough for Newt to hear. "Well, neither is a blowjob, dear", his wife retorted. He gently slapped her knee by means of reply while shaking his head in amazement. The game went on minute after minute, and the sheer statistical advantage on the side of the younger kids had its toll. Finally the oldest girl in the game, a large busted 15 year old, had to lose her t-shirt. She protested vehemently and tried to cop out. "Now come on, fair is fair", one of the Adults replied. Her protests didn't end there, and finally she was allowed to leave. The game broke up in disarray shortly thereafter, to Newts great disappointment. She'd wisely concealed her eagerness to play this game once she learned what it was. Damn damn damn. Later, after everyone had eaten their fill, Newt came across a good looking Brown haired boy about the same age as herself sitting at the edge of a group of youngsters. His hand was idly resting on the vacant spot next to him. A light went on in her head. She knew by word of mouth that Gavin knew how to keep his mouth shut. With a rush of adrenalin she casually sauntered over and sat next to him, on top of his hand. He immediately tried to extract it. "No, don't move it", she implored him. Newt looked back towards the group and their conversation, innocently ignoring the boy whose hand she was sitting on. She started fidgeting on the seat, moving her bottom on his hand. Come on... come on... wake up, she silently begged him. Eventually he got the idea, and for the first time Newt felt a boys finger on the crotch of her white panties. Mmmmm... This felt good, she thought. It wasn't easy to move his fingers underneath her, but after a lot of probing and rubbing he dared himself to push one underneath Newts panties. There was no way to direct his finger to the exact spot she wanted, but she felt a little flutter when it penetrated her slit. Each time it passed over the little spot she felt tingles of pleasure. She glanced over when she felt a movement next to her and saw him nervously trying to cover a conspicuous bulge in his pants. She knew from her recent reading what that was and why it happened, and it gave her a thrill to know she was responsible for it. It wasn't long before she felt a warm moistness in her panties, and knew the juices were flowing again. Around her, people were eating, drinking and joking away the evening blissfully unaware of what was happening. Each time Gavin stopped moving his finger around, Newt fidgeted and moved her butt until he got the idea to keep going. After probably half an hour of this, she waited until nobody was looking their way and put a hand right onto his hardon to give it a little squeeze before returning it to her lap. Now, if that didn't convince him she wanted more, nothing would, she reckoned. All too soon it was her Bedtime, but she knew there would be a certain boy looking for her in the tunnels the next day. The look Gavin gave Newt as his family left told all - It was just a matter of who found who... She relished the thought. Newt couldn't sleep for hours that night, she was fingering her clitoris while thinking what it would be like. The moment Breakfast and the tasks for the day were complete, she took a blanket and couldn't run fast enough to the nearest grille, pull it off and climb in. In her hurry she almost forgot to replace it so no passing adult would trigger (yet) another search of the ventilation for some miscreant kid. She scoured the tunnels for ages before deciding to let him come to her, and waited near a major crossroads. Freezing cold air howled through this part of the system, air cleansed of Ammonia and Methane lingering from Acherons primordial atmosphere. The children liked passing this way, they could lean into the icy blast at a fourty-five degree angle. Not strong enough to blow you away, but still reason enough to ensure the adults paid attention that their kids didn't play in here. Newt also liked the feeling and image of her long blond tresses flowing in the wind when she went through. In the next hour several little groups of children dashed through the main tunnel but none included the boy she was after. Newts ears were starting to hurt from the whistling air by the time he finally showed up alone. He grinned at Newt. "Can we go somewhere private?", he asked while leaning REAL close to Newt. "Sure, I know a good place," she replied. And led him to the exact same place she'd seen the young couple touching each other. "Do you want to continue where you left off last night?" Newt asked Gavin, his hardon evident in his pants. "Yes, please!" "Go ahead, as long as you're gentle and I can touch you, too." "It's a deal, Newt." Newt spread the Blanket for them to sit on, then exactly as the older Girl had done weeks before, she pulled her pants partway down. He saw wisps of pubic hair poking out from under the crotch of her white panties. Promptly his hands went to her panties and started feeling around, not daring to put a hand inside yet. Newt gingerly put her hand on his by now rock hard cock. Slowly she pulled his zipper down before inserting her hand. No waiting for her, she pushed it straight underneath his underpants and onto his cock. "Could you take your pants off, Newt?" "If you take yours off too, Gavin?" "Okay..." Newt pulled her pants and underwear right off before lying back and spreading her legs slightly. Gavin gasped at the sight of her thin clamlike cunt lips surrounded by wispy brown pubic hair, and followed her example. As soon as his cock was released it sprang to attention. My god, it looked huge to Newts eyes, even bigger than the one she'd seen weeks previously. The angry purple head atop the long smooth length was almost too much for her. All she could do was stare at it. "Come on, touch me, please?" Gavin pleaded. Newt did so, and for the first time really felt a guys cock. It was hard but smooth, and to her surprise his balls moved at her touch. He reminded her to 'go gentle with those' while he put a finger into her crack and started moving it around. Newt was starting to enjoy this a whole lot. He really liked having his balls touched, she noticed his cock went harder still when she did that. He took a hold of one of her legs and pushed it aside so he could see right between her legs. His mouth dropped open and he gasped when he got his first real good look at her cunt. He put both hands between her legs and gently pulled open her cunt lips to reveal her pink flesh. Newt wasn't scared any more, in fact she was loving it. He froze for a few moments before putting a finger right on Newts tiny clitoris. "Could you rub there, right where your finger is?" she asked. He started doing just that, but he was too rough at first so she gave instructions until he got it right. Mmmm... that was good. She noticed a bead of liquid had appeared at the tip of his Cock, and wondered if it would do the same thing she'd seen the other boys cock do if she started rubbing it. Newt determined to find out and started rubbing her hand up and down his cock. He liked that, and groaned faintly. "Thats it, Newt. Keep going, please?" Empowered by this she gripped it tightly and began moving her hand up and down the length. The more she did this, the more vigorously his hand moved between her legs, and she had to tell him to ease off a bit. "I'm gonna come if you do that much longer, Newt. It might look gross, you don't have to keep going if you don't want to." "I ... want... to see it", she replied, leaning closer. Like her, Gavin was just starting to develop pubic hair, and she didn't like touching it too much. She preferred feeling Gavins smooth cock and balls. Once she'd even used a pair of scissors to remove as much of her budding pubic hair as possible, but that only made it scratchy and itchy. That and the pictures she'd seen while reading convinced her she'd just have to get used to it, as it was only going to get worse. "Faster Newt, faster..", Gavin gasped. Newt tried, but she didn't know if she could keep it up much longer. Gavin seemed to be losing his composure with every moment, and suddenly he leaned back. At the same moment a warm spurt shot across her hand. Surprised, she looked down to see a line of what looked like Milk on her hand. As she watched, amazed, spurt after spurt came out of his cock and splattered her hand and onto the floor. It ended just as fast as it had begun. Newt kept pumping in the hope of seeing it again, but Gavin asked her stop instead. It took him some time to explain that once a guy had come, he went soft and stayed that way for ages before "getting it up" again. Which didn't help Newt, who still wanted him to make her come. Gavin had stopped rubbing her clitoris just before he'd spurted, and she was tempted to do it herself while he watched. From the way he'd been fingering her up before, she figured he'd enjoy watching. "Can I have a good close look between your legs, Newt?" "... Sure, but could you start rubbing me again, where you were before?" "Okay", he replied. Newt lay back and spread her legs as wide as she could. She enjoyed the feeling of exposing herself to a boy, it was exciting like she hadn't known anything could be. Forget the maze, from now on she'd explore Gavin instead! He bent over Newt and put his hands between her legs again. Gently he pulled open her thin, pudgy cunt lips and started rubbing the clitoris again. Newt relaxed to enjoy directing someone else to pleasure her. Mmmm... All she had to do was listen out for anyone approaching. Not now, please... Then Gavin put a finger down her slit and started pushing it into her vagina. "Hey, be careful there, it can hurt", she said as she looked up. "Can I put it in, if I'm real slow?" "Well, okay, but you gotta promise me to stop if I tell you." "I promise." And it was settled. Uneasily she felt his finger trying to swirl its way inside while the other kept rubbing her spot. That was good, but she was worried about her vagina, it really stung the last time she tried that, and the bleeding... He kept his promise. He eased her inner lips wide so he could again see pink. His cock involuntarily jumped at the sight and started to harden again as he played with the tiny bud that stood out. Newt hardly felt Gavins little finger exploring her tiny hole now. She felt her cunt expanding to accommodate his finger without any pain at all. Soon it was in up to the knuckle and he was turning it around whilst slowly moving it in and out. Gavin was amazed at the sight and feel of Newts cunt lips tightly holding his finger, each time he pulled it out he could plainly see her cunt clinging onto it as though it didn't want to let go. It was difficult to keep playing with Newts clitoris while fingering her at the same time, but she reminded him whenever he started to forget. As he kept exploring her most intimate parts, the probing finger was coming out covered in more juice each time he withdrew. He planted his entire palm onto her crack and felt the warmth emanating from inside her. Much as she wanted, she simply couldn't hold her legs any wider than she already was. She especially liked it when he tried to handle as much of her as possible at once. Those lovely warm massaging, spreading, pleasure giving fingers were holding her right where she'd wanted someone to touch her for weeks, ever since she'd learned how to make herself come. "Far out, Newt! You're wet!", he suddenly said, excitedly and too loud for Newts liking. "Shhh!!", Newt gasped. "I've never done this before, and I can't believe I'm doing it." "Good fun, isn't it?" Newt nodded assent. She was close, real close to cumming now, and it was going to be a big one. Gavin watched as Newt began bucking her hips against his hand and fingers. His finger was sliding in and out of her cunt and occasionally a big drop of her juice would dribble down her crack and onto the blanket. Suddenly she stiffened up as his finger was suddenly engulfed in cunt juice. She came almost silently, shaking and moaning, and closing her legs against his hand. Reluctantly he let go and watched Newt's orgasmic pleasure. The moment it ended, she reached for her trousers and began dressing herself. "Not yet Newt, please?" "We've been here for awhile and it's not far to the main corridor. I don't want to take the chance." But Newt saw his erect cock waving about as he moved and she couldn't help but reach for it again. He wasn't about to complain, and stopped putting his trousers on so she could do as she pleased. "Was this really your first time?", he asked. "Yes," she nervously replied. "You were pretty confident about it." "I've wanted to do this for ages, and now I have. Have you... done it with other girls?" "One or two other girls enjoy it but the others don't seem interested. Kylie, you know Kylie?" "Sort of." She could just picture Kylie, a well built 14 year old with short, dark, almost Black hair and legs skinnier than her own. The older guys really seemed to like her. Not surprising, if they knew the kind of things she enjoyed. "Well, she loves sucking guys..." "... Cocks?" Newt completed the sentence. "Yeah. She loves sucking guys. She did it to me, once." Newt was surprised at the idea, but it didn't gross her out like it did a lot of girls. To her, Gavins cock looked like a warm red lolly, not that she'd ever had many sweets except for the special occasions when a group of parents imported some. "She also likes it when a guy licks between her legs, right where I made you come." "Whhhaaaat??" she replied, wide-eyed. "You've licked her down there? Thats really gross! Yuck!" "The first time it was, but I got used to it. Now if someone wants her to suck him, she won't unless he licks her first." Newt looked like she was going to be sick. "Kylie prefers it to a guy making her come with his hand, she told me she can't get enough of it", he continued. "Yuk!" was all she could say. For the next couple of hours they talked and touched each other up. Once a couple of kids wandered past and they almost stopped breathing until the noise faded into the distance. Before they went their separate ways, Newt and Gavin lay back with her legs over his, so they could masturbate in full view of each other. The sexy sight of her fingers frantically playing with her clitoris spurned him on. She liked seeing him do what he'd done last night while thinking about her. His balls were giggling inside their little sacks as he masturbated, and she held them to help bring him off after she'd come. Gavin was already waiting for her in their special place the next morning when Newt got there. Last night Newt had been thinking about what Gavin had told her, and today she wanted to try something new. Sucking his cock. He was more than happy to let Newt 'have a go' as she put it, and lay back with his legs slightly open for her. Promptly Newt bent over him and put it into her mouth. He jumped! "OOW! Newt! that hurt! Don't let your teeth touch it, it hurts." Newt opened her mouth wider and tried again. Fitting that width into her mouth without tooth contact wasn't easy but she managed. It was pretty much as she expected but oh, so horny, sliding his warm cock between her lips as he suggested. A couple of times he jumped when she let her teeth get in the way and she quickly learned not to. She followed his directions and pretty soon she was sucking and fucking it with her mouth while rolling her tongue around the head. The more she sucked his cock and felt his balls, the harder his cock became. As inexperienced as she was, she knew when he was getting close and stopped short of bringing him off in her mouth, much as he wanted her to. She jerked him off again and watched fascinated, as he ejaculated a big load of cum into her hand. His turn to pleasure her. She wanted to try something new, and she remembered one of the exercises she'd been taught along with the other girls by the Nurse. Only, the way she was going to do it wasn't quite in line with what she'd been shown. Naked from the waist down, she lay flat on her back then lifted her back off the metal, moving into the 'crab' position, with her legs wide open. Gavins mouth dropped open, and he promptly started fingering the pink folds between her legs. Just before she lowered her back to the ground, his hands went up to her budding breasts, still covered with her t-shirt. Shocked, she came down and pushed them aside. No way! A few months before, no problem, but right now they embarrassed her. One side even seemed to be growing faster than the other. It was as if her own body was conspiring against her. "Can I touch them, please?", he asked with a sorrowful look on his face. "No!" "Can I just look at them without touching, then?" "NO!" "Why?" "I just don't want you to, right?" The message was crystal clear - hands off that part of her body. But that left heaps. Newt certainly liked having her genitals handled by him, and after some exploratory probing he brought her off again. Looking at the wet, hot pinkness between her legs, he badly wanted to kiss and lick it. But he was rebuked a second time when he asked if he could lick Newts fanny. Nope. She didn't want that either, and nothing he said would convince her to let him try. After they dressed again, they chatted some more about the things he'd seen, heard of, and done in the tunnels with the other Girls. Kylie had on several occasions been with two guys at once. Once she even succeeded in sucking two cocks at once. Catherine wasn't interested in multiple partners and tended to stay with the same guy for weeks on end. "You know the place almost at the far end where you have to climb up to get to this alcove?" "Yeah, I found it, but it takes ages to get there." "Exactly. Well thats where Kylie likes to go. Why don't you come along and watch? She won't mind, and if you like the idea you could try it." "Well, I dunno..." He let the subject drop. That evening Newt remembered that tomorrow was her and another two families yearly survival camp. As part of their ongoing training, each colony member had to be prepared for any reasonable eventuality, such as an emergency evacuation of the colony or vehicular breakdown miles from anywhere. Hence, once a year each person packed the bare essentials and drove several miles out of town to a marked out space a hundred meters on each side. Within that little area of typical Acheron countryside, each person had to set up a survival tent and cook their own rations - Children over the age of seven included. Younger children stayed in their parents tent. The first thing she did in the morning was to pack her survival gear so she'd be ready to leave the moment she came back from todays fun with Gavin. This time she got there before he did. Shortly she was sucking his cock again, her lips clinging tightly to its length as she moved it in and out, which he liked a lot. She swirled her tongue over the sensitive head before letting more into her mouth until she was almost gagging. "Thats good... Take it all in", he suggested "It's too big", she replied before continuing her tender ministrations on his cock. She moved the warm hard length in and out of her mouth, slurping and licking as she went, while playing with his big balls. She stopped again before he got too close, even though he tried to hide it. Much as he tried, his increased movement gave it away. Good try Gavin, but no way. "Do you want to rub it in your crack, Newt? It'll make both of us come." She liked the idea, and climbed up on top. She was high enough that he couldn't push his cock inside her, but just rub it along the outside of her cunt. He put the hard length between her legs and began rubbing it on her clitoris. Now this was different, she thought. This was heaps different to a finger; it was bigger and hotter, although much clumsier and she had to take over because he just couldn't find the spot she wanted him to rub. He adjusted position a few times so she didn't rub a too-sensitive part of his cock. Back and forth she pushed his cock in her squishy wet crack, faster and faster. The movement and the sight of his cock-head parting Newts almost hairless fanny lips as it ran back and forth sent him over the edge, and his cock spurted its load at her cunt. She felt it squirt onto her crack and dribble down the inside of her legs. He came again when he glimpsed sperm on her fanny. She felt so goddamned rude that it fairly spurned her on. The thought of the spunk on her legs pushed her closer to orgasm, and she finished herself off by rubbing the rapidly softening length with sperm still oozing from the tip over her clitoris until she came. Newt and Gavin lay next to each other for long minutes to cool off from the mutual orgasm. "Have you thought about putting it inside you?" he asked, referring to his cock. "I saw a diagram of that in a book but I don't think I can. Your finger feels funny inside me, not painful but a little uncomfortable. I kinda like the idea, but I doubt if I could fit it." He looked thoughtful. "Tomorrow would you like to come somewhere with me, I want to show you something." "Is it something to do with Kylie?" "Uh huh." "Maybe, I'll think about it tonight at survival camp." "Oh no, you're going out there tonight?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned for her. "Whens your turn, gavin?" "Next month." Newt wiped herself down with a corner of the blanket. "So, what else does Kylie like doing over there?" "I think you'd better see it for yourself. I love watching it, though." "Okay, I will" she agreed, throwing caution to the wind. "Where do you want to meet tomorrow then?" "How about at the Crossroads?" "See you there", Newt said as she scampered off into the dark tunnels. All too soon it was time for the three families to go outside for the night. The tracked vehicle rocked noticeably as gusts of wind slammed broadside into it. No worse than last time, Newt decided. Everyone was fingering their meagre equipment in stoic silence. Out past the faded, rusted and battered "Weyland-Yutani corp. Building better worlds" sign they went. Big deal, some thought. We build the new world, they reap the harvest. Wisely they kept these thoughts to themselves. Ahead, flashing beacons marking the area they had to stay within became visible. "Okay, everyone. This is it. You'll be under observation in Infrared f ----------------- Ho, hum... time to go to work again, Sapphr McGill thought to herself after the morning ritual of showering, breakfast, and preening herself. It amazed her how such a vaunted, highly-sought position as hers would become so... everyday... so quickly. Not that she could complain, living on Gateway station and all. Few were even allowed to stay here, and the view... Barely three months before, she'd gained a very respectable third placing in the Miss Universe contest. Immediately she was deluged with so many job offers it'd taken a week to sort through them. Everyone seemed to want a 6ft+ talented, Blonde, 21 year old Scandinavian Goddess with an exotic accent working for them. The one that really took her fancy was the position as the ICC Company presidents personal secretary. The job offer included Gateway station residency, free phone calls, free travel with the Company president, free weekend trips back to Earth... 2 days later she was on the upgoing shuttle. Her job was right away from the mainstream of the station; only the Company Presidents personal business and the highest decision making went on here as he valued his peace and quiet. The job itself was an odd one. From the magnitude of the Company and the position she was in, she'd expected to be writing and handling important reports and correspondence, to dispatch plans and orders affecting whole worlds. But instead the jist of it all seemed to be plain and simply drivel. Both the incoming and outgoing messages between the President and his executives were usually a mess of double entendre that didn't make much sense. God damn it, they were so far removed from reality they even appeared to frown upon normal conversations. She nearly winced at some of the self effacing, obsequious letters that flowed through, particularly from the lower execs. Her impression was that some of them would never get anywhere precisely because they were prepared to put up with so much to be "somebody" in the corporation. Talk about office politics; she'd never imagined such goings-on were possible. Luckily she'd been elevated above it all, but perhaps that explained the immediate chagrin against her from certain of the other staff, notably Annie Hall, the lower ranked secretary outside his office. To her credit she said nothing, tried to ignore it and mingle with everyone equally, but it didn't seem to help. The only reason she could think of was petty office jealousy, and she just let it be. The first real thing she'd learned about the Company president was his insistence on being called "Mr President" at all times, rather than by his first name, Robert. After the first dozen times it felt like her teeth were grating at the words. He might as well change his name by deed poll to "I'm Great"; it was near enough the same thing. But she could have overlooked that if it weren't for the other things. Social gatherings were the worst. His humour relied upon sneering smartypants remarks. Strangely, the Execs lapped it up and came back for more. Their sole purpose seemed to be to find what socially unacceptable statement he'd just made, and rush to agree or echo it; giving Tribute to a Madman. Like Sheep. The blind leading the blind. Some otherwise mature, intelligent women seemed to swoon over a strong, psychopathic man and did anything to stay around him; often they were immediately promoted over the masses into positions of authority, in return for which they gave him their undying devotion. On these occasions Robert would make remarks to Sapphr that could be taken several ways, suggesting that she visit his apartment, which she graciously declined without resorting to excuses to avoid complicating matters. She'd expected any such behaviour to come from an exec, not from him, so it took her by surprise. But yesterday afternoon he'd returned in a huff from some "PR work" as he succinctly described it, and hardly spoke a word for the rest of the day. Glancing at his face, she'd noticed faint red streaks across one cheek vaguely resembling... a hand. She recognised a womans touch when she saw it, and kept her giggles to herself. He seemed to have little organization or leadership ability, and was more preoccupied with his staff than anything else. He threw immature tantrums at little prompting, and several execs were given their marching orders after such outbursts in the most uncivil ways possible. In the eyes of easily-led outsiders, everyone who was anyone was in the ICC corp - and they jumped to become more fresh meat for Robert to ignore and play with. The newcomers were seemingly enthusiastically welcomed, but Sapphr observed the smiles turn to laughter the moment their backs were turned. The laughter was loudest when a newcomer was totally grateful because they'd finally condescended to grant a much-lauded yet trivial promotion. Once she actually overheard a senior exec remarking "Yes, we have to make sacrifices; talking to them is probably the biggest." Some went to extremes to pretend to be friendly for months or years; even inviting newcomers to parties. If they became disillusioned, their executive "friends" would politely hear them out or agree wholeheartedly, then almost climb over each over in their haste to report these words of dissent to their master. Naturally, nobody bad-mouthed anyone unless the President had done so first. On the rare occasions they were confronted with what they'd done, they weren't concerned with the details; rather they assumed zero intelligence and demanded to know who'd told them. They were so morally blind and their sense of righteousness so great, that their perfidy, dishonesty and two-facedness never came into discussions about the "bad attitude" subsequently shown toward them by former company people. They also saw themselves as the only people who said or did anything useful. After so much bowing and scraping, the few who succeeded usually became fanatically loyal to the corporation. Quickly she came to the conclusion that he was little more than an egotistical, uneducated, bad complexioned Sociopath, who walked rapidly merely to echo his own self importance. In fact, sometimes his ignorance was truly breathtaking. Wasn't it amazing how the news broadcasts never showed anything except the sartorial clothes and the face he wanted to show? What lay behind it was a totally different matter. A 20th century businessman, said to be the most popular person who ever lived, quipped the famous line "I ain't ever met a person I didn't like." A slight rearrangement seemed to suit Robert perfectly. Sapphr would have scraped him off long ago, but the money and status weren't to be sneezed at so easily. She quickly became adept at pretending to be an integral part of it all. The whole thing was a huge corporate game; all she had to do was alter statements slightly before parroting them. She smiled and yessuhed and cooed and laughed or whatever seemed called for at the time, while inwardly laughing to herself. At that moment on Earth, Ripley was observing a low-stakes poker game between some of her cargo-bay workmates during her lunchbreak. One person kept watch in case a boss decided upon a sneak inspection of the facilities. "Hey, Ripley... come and join in." "Come off it, you know I can't play for shit." "Then nows a good time to learn. This place is saved for you, Ripley" he replied, wiping the vacant seat clean of grime as he beckoned her to join in. "I know your style, Warren. No way." Eventually he gave up and let her be. The game continued anew. "Okay, 5 credit ante", he broke through the silence of shuffling cards. As each of the players put in 5 the pool came up to 20 credits. The cards were dealt, and each man discreetly looked at his opponents as they examined their cards, checking for telltale facial expressions, sizing them up. "I've got you guys beat", Warren crowed. "I'll bet 20", he continued. "I'll match that 20 and raise you 10" Bruce said in a quiet voice, dumping his cash in with the rest. The tension started to build. Garry threw his cards onto the centre of the table. "I Drop... no luck on these cards." "Match", said Marc. Warren looked around and forced a grin ... "Match" The atmosphere grew restless with 110 credits, 2 days pay, up for grabs. "Call" finally said Marc. The cards were laid down. "Read em and weep", Warren said, throwing down three of a kind. Bruce immediately threw down his cards in disgust, revealing two pairs. Warren laughed and started to gather the $110 from the pool, then was restrained by a hand. Marc's cards were sitting there in plain view... A royal flush. Unbeatable. Now that was a turnup for the books, Ripley thought. The tables were turned, and for once Warren had to watch with the others as his money was pocketed. Bruce started to shuffle the cards again. Most of them were married. She was probably way behind in the rat-race, so to speak. Not that it'd be so hard to change things. When she was ready she'd hit the right social spots, and the rest was up to her. In some ways Newt made things easier, her having a child and all would be an effective 'filter' for prospective would-be husbands She started daydreaming about what might have been if she hadn't met Julian at that Ball, fifteen years before in her time. Would she have met a more compatible Husband, or was it fated to happen? She shrugged off the thought, refusing to believe it. No, given the same circumstances she'd have waited longer, that was all. Ellen went out with Kevin for several months before both realised they didn't have much in common and they parted still friends. She got good passes in High school and enrolled in University for a somewhat waffly general course that left lots of options open. Horticulture, Communications (always useful for higher jobs) Mathematics (Calculus, higher Algebra and Geometry for Navigation... yekkkk), basic computer use and Physics. Amongst the interminable parties chalked up in her diary was one that tickled the fancy of LOTS of people. The question was whether the University council would allow it, and if the organizers would actually go through with it. "The University Nude ball", read the notice. Hmmm... Within minutes of its posting the whole place was abuzz with talk. Everyone who'd ever fantasized about seeing certain people nude was interested. Ellen included. They believed it when the details were finalized and the prices/conditions set. Only University students and partners were allowed, and you had 30 minutes to decide whether to "go all the way" or leave. My god, it was actually going to happen. Now came the crunch; who would go further than lusty talk and turn up for real? Megan and Michael were going, and Ellen decided that if she was coming she'd stick with friends. When the big day came, hundreds were packed into the Ball room as the festivities began. At 7pm sharp the half hour 'grace' began, and two people, probably brought along by the organizers, promptly stripped down as if they did this every day. Gradually a few others sidled over before copying their example, and little by little two groups formed, one fully clothed, the other not. A few walked out, but once the number of unclothed students rose to an 'acceptable' number things moved more rapidly. Megan and Michael nodded to each other and started undressing. Ellen knew it was now or never; if she didn't now, she wouldn't at all. So she joined them. Down to her lacy white bra and underwear. She felt as if eyes boring into her body, but when she looked up nobody seemed to be taking notice. Finally she was entirely nude, and to her relief found no undue attention being paid to her. The seven thirty announcement went over the speaker, and a few last stragglers joined in. Now that everyone was in the same manner of dress, or lack thereof, there were no sexual overtones at all. Ellen hadn't expected this, but then she didn't know how it would be. All around her were people she'd wanted to see nude for years, and she barely noticed. Once the initial queasiness faded the atmosphere was almost casual, and a little later it was only when she looked down she found she was nude. Following initial socializing and drinks, the Dinner and speeches came before dancing. Things became more spontaneous at this point. No guys danced by themselves, whereas plenty of women did. The guys who were on the dance floor stuck *real* close to their partners, and Ellen wondered why usually outgoing guys needed cajoling to come out. Then she clicked. The thought of their naked penis waving about uncontrolled for all to see was what was worrying them. What a great leveler nudity is, she thought. Two extroverts were taking full advantage of the opportunity to publicly humiliate each other. One abruptly jumped up and shouted "You complete and absolute slut, you're going out with another guy!" "Now calm down, you know I haven't gone out with a guy since you left me, dear", was the dignified response. Later, the victim announced, "Ok, you turned 21 last week, congratulations. You've reached the age of consent. Now BEND OVER!" Everywhere there were exposed pudenda, but nobody was taking any notice whatsoever. Ripley was so entranced by this observation that she didn't notice a guy approach her. "Umm, Hi Ellen, I'm Julian, would you like to dance?" So surprised was she at the unexpected invitation it took several seconds to place him as a classmate of hers from junior school. He was a natural Blonde with sparkling blue eyes and a medium to strong build, the kind of guy who tended to be looked at twice in case his good looks had gone to his head. "It's been a few years hasn't it? Sure, come on." And she led him by the hand to the dance floor. As expected, he preferred to stick close to her, not that she minded; he easily passed her initial quality checklist and she'd already gone to stage II - working out his personality. The more they talked the more she liked him, and Ellen finally decided that if he asked her out, she'd happily agree. The feeling was mutual. "Well, this has been a nice way to catch up with you, Ellen." "True, but hardly conventional", she giggled. "Yep. I can't wait to see you with clothes on", Julian commented. "I don't know if I should take that as a complement or not." "Well, it is. If you like, I'd like to take you out tomorrow night?" "Yes, please. I've been waiting for you to ask." "The old fashioned type are we?" "Not always, sometimes I just feel like it." They joined Megan and Co for dinner, then spent the rest of the evening together. Two weeks later they were firmly in Love. Julian was in the University Caving and Tramping clubs, and he invited her on a day tramp in the Mountains a few months later. Ellen reluctantly agreed, and came dressed in a miniskirt, t-shirt and boots as it was a hot day. The track bypassed the old Camp 708 Health camp that Ellen had gone to several times as a child, before joining up with a more well-used track leading to a wooden suspension bridge. Ellen and Julian were lagging a little, but they glimpsed the last few people jumping up and down in unison to shake the bridge for the last person. "Don't even think about it", Ellen said as they stepped onto it, she ahead of him. They were nearly across the river and solid ground was a meter and a half below the bridge when Ripley stepped onto an aging plank. Weakened by years of pounding, it gave way and she fell through the gap, legs waving helplessly in the air. Luckily she was holding the ropes firmly otherwise she might have been hurt. As it was, the jerk temporarily took the strength from her arms. Julian ran the rest of the way over and went underneath to help push her out. She held her legs straight so he could push on her feet. He tried, then stopped just before her hips rose above the gap. "I'm nearly out of here, one more push should do it." The sudden hand on her panties made her jump. "Typical! Okay, push me out that way then." Nope. He moved Ripley into a sitting position on his shoulders, in front of him. He inserted a finger into her panties and pulled them aside. A moment later she felt her crack being opened and something warm and wet penetrate then start flicking her clitoris. "Look, just get me out of here. Dammit! Not now, Christ, gemme out of here!" "Just relax and enjoy it, honey." "Shit! Stop that! This is embarrassing. Not now... Dammit, you know I like it but what if someone comes? Stop it!" "No way!" "Oh fuck! You bastard!" She tried to close her legs to squeeze him out, but he started pinching her knees. She couldn't *stand* being tickled that way, and she ended up opening them again to escape the torture. He returned to licking her. Grrrrr.... "I'm not gonna come, so you might as well stop." "We'll see." Nope, she wasn't going to come, she *wasn't* going to get turned on, he *wasn't* going to humiliate her like this. And thats when she felt herself getting wet. She thought about faking an orgasm, but she knew he had her figured out. He knew exactly now wet she got just before she came, there was no fooling him that easily. Ellen sighed and resigned herself to being trapped until she'd orgasmed. "Oh damn you, just hurry up and get it over with." "It'll be a pleasure, ma'am." "Mine, I'm sure." Ellen gave herself to his desires, and opened her smooth legs wide to improve access to her privates and make herself comfortable. If not for the occasional pinching of the boards this would be quite randy. One of her little fantasies was to make love in public, but this was bordering on insanity - anyone could be watching. A friend of hers had managed to fuck her boyfriend in front of hundreds of people in the water at a Hot spring without anyone realising. This was completely different, though. "Oh, you're in luck, there are people watching from across the river." Panic-stricken, Ellen turned her head around, to see an empty river bank. "Don't EVER do that to me again, Julian! I nearly had a heart attack." "Fooled you though, didn't I?" "Someday I'll get you for this, you bastard. And don't think I'll forget, either." The hand holding her underwear aside disappeared, and returned a moment later to deliver a stinging slap to one cheek of her little bottom that left the red imprint of his hand. Ripley cried out, and tried to pull free but he held her there by her legs. "Now the other side." "Don't.. you... DARE!!!" She was just starting to think he wouldn't, when his hand screamed up to smite the other arse-cheek. "Baaasstaaaarrrrd..." He went back to eating her out. By this time she wasn't in the mood to try and escape, but honour demanded she think of something fiendish afterwards. Julian lifted her up and sat her on the edge of a plank to get comfortable. Her big lips readily parted again for his viewing pleasure and to admit his tongue and fingers. When he saw the first drop of juice ooze from her vagina he knew she was starting to get really randy. Before long droplets were falling to the ground from his fingers as he pushed them in and out. He'd rather be pushing something else into Ellen, but after this he doubted she'd want the rest. God this was nice, sitting on the edge of the bridge in the warm sun and holding herself upright by the ropes, while feeling him licking her where she loved being touched. Without any attention being paid to them, her nipples became erect, surprising her when she noticed the slight discomfort. Fascinated, she watched his Blonde head rhythmically moving between her legs as he tongued her deeply. Julian was having the time of his life, he could see every curve, every subtle coloring, every little hair as he rolled his tongue around her clitoris, nearly sending Ellen over the edge in the process. A finger penetrated her vagina, immediately followed by a second. Ellen didn't care if he fucked her brains out right then and there, she was enjoying this too much. Her dress kept falling into the way, so he reached down and pushed one leg out of the gap in the bridge and urged her to hold it to her chest to keep the dress out of the way, also making the sexiest sight he'd ever seen. "I want you inside me, right now!" she suddenly exclaimed. "What if someone comes?" "I'm the only one who's going to, so hurry up." "Not now, when we get back I'll make up for it." "Look who's talking! You started this, now you finish it. I'm the one whose crotch is exposed to the world, so you can bloody well get up here." "Not here, we can't! How about if we move over to the treeline?" "You CHICKEN!!" A short time later Ellen began to shiver as his frantic fingerfucking of her sopping pussy and the tongue sent in her clitoris sent her over the edge. She groaned loudly as she came, just as voices began approaching from the way they'd come. She pulled her other leg out of the hole and prepared to sit up. The last thing she expected right then was for Julian to reach up to grab hold of her panties and pull them completely off in one deft movement, then pocket them and run off with Ellen chasing him and demanding them back. "Gimme my panties back", she whispered urgently into his ear when they caught up with their group. She was only wearing her miniskirt and t-shirt, and the last thing she needed was anyone else noticing. One or two of her friends never wore underpants and Ellen had tried it, but washing trousers or dresses was that much harder she gave up. "WHAT?" he said. "Speak up, I can't hear you", he replied. "No sex for a month for you", she whispered back. He gave her a funny look. "I can do without it - can you?", she continued. "Sweet Ellen", he said a week later. "Dear Ellen, beloved Ellen..." "What do you want?" she cut him off. After men first get it, they always want it, she thought. And Ellen Ripley kept her promise, right to the very last minute. Ellen switched lovers at this point. She'd tried her best to forget him over the years, but occasionally it all came streaming back. Dwayne Hicks had helped a lot in that respect when they'd made love. Reassured she was protected, they'd made love, and all through the next day she'd felt his cum oozing out of her cunt - a feeling she'd almost despaired of having again. That was also one of the few times in her life she'd lied. Time to go, Sapphr thought. She liked to always be ten minutes early for work, it gave her a precious few minutes to psych up for the upcoming work. The walk to the office took fifteen minutes, and it gave her a little exercise. For months she'd planned to start that exercise program to keep in shape; this time she was going to go through with it. Sapphr was surprised to see Annies desk unoccupied when she arrived. What was more, it looked different. That's it, her things were gone. It looked like she'd left in an awful hurry. She wished the surly secretary had given her half a chance to be friendly, but she hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise before reading the obvious "go away" body language. And now she never would. Pity. Beyond a sealed door in the office was a passageway leading to one of the corners on the leading edge of the huge station. That was ICC head office, outside of which was arguably the Solar systems greatest view. She would enter, check everything was in order, print the mornings mail and place it tidily for Robert to read, then go to work at her desk across from his before he'd arrived. Every morning it was the same, Robert was scrupulous about arriving exactly on time. Most mornings he would watch the Sun leap over Earths horizon for the first time before settling to his days chores. She instinctively knew from his body language when he was dealing with confidential company material on his terminal, and she would steer clear of his desk at these times. Pure efficiency. Odd. Instead of the expected green signal and the door to the inner sanctum opening to her Thumbprint ID, it beeped red and remained sealed. The plate can't have read it properly. She wiped it and tried again. No go. Shit! Don't tell me the damn things busted on me. Wonderful! Ten minutes waiting, then the office door beeped to the Presidents positive ID. Robert, some of his Executives, and a woman named Vanessa she'd seen him with a few times entered the office amidst a babble of conversation. Like her, Vanessa was in her early twenties and well built, but slimmer with brown eyes and wavy jet black hair going past her shoulders. Robert didn't look surprised to find Sapphr waiting there. "Good morning, Mr President. The door doesn't seem to be working..." Her voice trailed away as the inner door opened to his touch. "Ah, Bill, explain things to Sapphr, would you?", he said as the little group ignored her and the door locked behind them. For a moment she saw Vanessa's puzzled face looking her way. "Sapphr", he began, "If you haven't already guessed, the President has gotten himself a new personal secretary, and you're working out here now. You'll find all your things in the drawers. Your duties are as follows..." Sheer outrage got the better of her. "He can't do this! What does he think I am? A Working Girl? Is this some sort of joke?" Bill laughed at her. "Oh yes he can. Check your contract. Nothing in it says he can't do this. It's up to you, take it or leave it. You had your chances, and you missed them." Bill was relishing every moment of this, she realised. Fuck! "Chances for WHAT!", she interjected him again. He sadly shook his head. "DON'T... you... raise your voice to me, Sapphr", he looked sternly at her, before continuing. "Now, things aren't so bad, you're still on a very decent salary, why don't you make the best of it? As I said, it's up to you. You'll like it here. But if you're still bitter about it tonight, why don't you and I go out for drinks this evening..." His voice trailed away. If looks could kill, he'd have dropped to the floor at that moment. No, she wasn't as naive as he'd thought. Okay, he detailed her new job and left her to it. Now she almost understood the former secretary's anger. Did the same thing happen to her? Take it or leave it. Right, they expected her to leave after this humiliation, so she'd stay to spite them. People always receive their own. She'd been brought up to believe in Karma - 'Do good and it will come back to you', and vice-versa. Robert had been kicking butt for so long, he was about due for a major fall, and she wanted to be around to watch. Sooner or later he'd kick the wrong one. The problem was, there weren't many people who could bring him to heel. Maybe he'd slipped through the net? We'll see. But they weren't about to let her have it that easy. She turned her back, and someone left his empty coffee cup on a neatly printed report. She'd stop for a moment, and a leering suited figure would tick her off. She objected, and was told that if she did her job she wouldn't be bothered. One went as far as to sit on her desk and ask her out while his friends grinned broadly. She stared him in the eyes, and a smile crossed her face. "You know, you remind me of an old story I read." "Oh? And what might that be, Sapphr?" "An American tourist asked a Frenchwoman if he could sample her saliva." "And?" "She spat in his face." The gloating expressions vanished. "You're OUT OF LINE!", he shrieked. "If you don't get off this desk", she slowly and calmly replied, "I'm going to punch you in a very painful place." That moved his butt, and she was mostly left alone after that. The rest of the morning was relatively uneventful, except for the well built young man who walked in and straight out again after glancing at the office opening times. He must have gone to the wrong place. Pity. Right person, wrong time and place. 7 at her apartment would have suited her just fine. If she hadn't made them back off she knew she'd have had a breakdown by this time. But she had other ways of coping with stress. A favourite was to remember something funny, or better, amorous. That way she kept smiling no matter how bad things got, and put herself above it all. How could she ever forget the time on the Beach? She grinned at the recent memory. On Gateways observation deck, she'd once followed the coastline to the very beach it happened on. 19 year old Sapphr and an American friend had decided to find a secluded beach to spend the day. Her English was still shakey to say the least, but she was determined to see this through. She'd decided America was the place to be, and the earlier she went there the better. Literally overnight she'd packed her bags and uprooted from Norway. They'd overflown an isolated, deserted looking beach several times, not spotting a single footprint, before deciding to land the powered glider they'd hired for the day. It'd taken nearly two hours to make it this far from the city. As soon as they disembarked, her brown haired American friend, Katrina, began stripping but didn't bother putting on any swimming gear when she'd completely undressed. Instead, she stowed her clothes away. Sapphr gave her a funny look. "Have you forgotten something?" she haltingly asked. "Nope. Theres nobody for miles, we're so far out nobodys going to see us. This is a nature reserve, nobodys allowed to live near here. Come on, I dare you! You'll feel better for it." Katrina reached for Sapphrs top. Sapphr pulled back. "You are joking?" "No, I'm perfectly serious." "I believe you." "Look at this place, it's just so natural, you'll look out of place with that brightly colored gear on around here." Sapphr started to see the point when she looked around. The pristine beach, the glorious sunshine, the snow glistening on a distant mountain range... Nature beckoned. Why stand out? This time she didn't resist when Katrina reached for her top. They must have walked for miles down that beach, two totally naked nineteen year olds with nobody to see them. It felt weird at first, then she stopped noticing the lack of clothes, and only when she saw her exposed Blonde pubes did the illusion fade. They'd taken towels, suntan lotion, sunglasses, lunch and drink, and nothing else. Sapphr was a pure Scandinavian blue-eyed Blonde with big, proud, pointy breasts, blonde pubic hair, and long slim legs. Katrina was nearly the opposite, and might have been the prototype of Mother Russia. Black hair, solid, robust athletic build, small breasts. She'd claimed to be able to cum by rubbing her thighs together, and Sapphr thought this more likely now after glimpsing her protruding clitoris when she'd undressed. They swam in the slight surf, sunbathed and discussed their plans, their boyfriends, and sex (their favourite subject). The relaxing warmth and the surf got too much for Sapphr when she started tanning her front... An hour later when she woke, Katrina was gone. She looked up, and saw her coming out of the surf, still as naked as ever. Turning back, she spotted a flash of artificial color in the treeline. Looking closer, she saw a boy aged 13 or so watching them, and realised he might have been for hours. It could have been worse, but the initial shock and disappointment turned to anger at his insistence at staying put. She indicated his position to Katrina on her return. "Piss off!", she shouted. He grinned and stayed where he was, daring them to do something about it. Katrina shrugged her shoulders as if to say "you're not worth it" and lay back. A few minutes later he was still sitting there, and Katrina came to a decision. "Right, I'm going to have a word with that little shit" and stood up to walk over, before realising it could only be embarrassing if his parents spotted a naked girl chasing their son around the woods. "Wait here, and give me a hand when I call out for you." Sapphr waited for what seemed ages as Katrina went off towards the just-visible glider, then ducked into the trees and circled back. It was too easy, his attention was fixed on her friend and she was able to sneak up and grab him. He looked panic stricken when he was seized, and screamed to be let go. "You little pervert! We're going to teach you a lesson." Sapphr came running. He looked pitiful, a skinny blonde with a hardon still visible in his shorts, struggling to get free. Katrina turned him over onto his stomach. "What are you doing?", Sapphr asked. "Tying him to this tree. Hold him down... thanks" Katrina pulled his velcro belt off and used it to expertly tie his hands behind his back, then the two of them frogmarched him to a tree overlooking the beach. Wherever his parents were camped, they couldn't miss him here as soon as they started looking. But Katrina hadn't finished yet. She pushed him to the ground on his back then pulled off his sneakers. Sapphr realised what she was doing when Katrina reached for his pants. He looked like he wanted to cry when he was stripped completely naked, prior to being tied to the tree for his family to find. Sapphr was transfixed by his rapidly shrinking hardon. For a 13 year old, he had an impressive seven inches of smooth cock and nice big tight balls to match. It looked like he'd never touched it in his life. Katrina inadvertently brushed against it, and it jumped momentarily back to attention. "Didn't ask YOUR opinion" she said, and flicked his balls with a finger. "OOOOWWWW!", he cried. Sapphr felt nervous now. What they were doing more or less amounted to sexual assault, and she was worried they had overdone the prank. She saw Katrinas eyes survey the well-hung boys manhood for several long, silent, moments. They were perfectly alone. "Oh, what the hell, I'm going for it", Katrina exclaimed, as she bent forward and took his smooth cock into her mouth. Sapphr stood up, mouth wide. She didn't know who was the more shocked, him or her. His cock shot back up again at the unexpected attention. Very slowly she moved up and down, barely puckering her cheeks with slight suction. She moved around into the '69 position. His cock went rock solid but he remained still. She withdrew. "He's not licking me, dammit. Right... you see the crack between my legs?... I want you to put your tongue inside it and not just on it. Thats it, now a bit lower... lower... Stop right there. Now I want you to lick me where your tongue is, and don't stop or lose that spot or you'll regret it." Sapphr was in a mild state of shock, watching the coupling going on at her feet. She could see him flicking Katrinas prominent clitoris back and forth as he got the idea. Oh, what the heck... "One woman or two?" she asked, and kneeled behind Katrina and over his face. Sapphr put her hands between her legs and pulled open her cunt lips. She liked to keep the area between her legs clean shaven, boyfriends loved it that way. The young Blonde bucked, and Katrina half choked on a spurt of come before withdrawing. The next shot out of his cock and flew completely over Katrina, splattering onto Sapphrs stomach and over Katrinas arched back. So much for the much-vaunted teenaged rigidity and staying power. The sight of her part-shaven cunt did strange things to her boyfriends libidos, but this was something else. He was obviously a real virgin. "You caused that?" Katrina asked, when she noticed Sapphr kneeling behind her. She nodded. Back to the boy. "I didn't tell you to stop. Keep going" she said, then sat up and pressed her backside against Sapphrs front, while pulling her cunt lips open with one hand as Sapphr was doing. Eat this, kiddo. Katrina could plainly feel her friends erect nipples prodding her back as she moved into position. With her free hand she reached out and started slowly moving her hand up and down the length of the boys cock as the last drops of come oozed out. There was so much of it that a little puddle had formed on his body. "Can I have some too?", Sapphr asked, referring to the boy licking between Katrinas legs. "What? Oh, sure. He's good enough for two. When he's finished with me, ok?" That feels good, Katrina thought. Lets make it better still. She let go of his cock and put her hand under his head, pulling it up into her cunt. "Good boy, keep licking. Thats right, nice and deep." His tongue started tiring, and he slowed. Katrina was too close to cumming to allow this, so he pushed his nose into her crack and ran it back and forth over her clitoris till she came noisily. "Your turn", she said, climbing off so her friend could have a go. Droplets of juice were dribbling down his nose and chin. Without a pause, Sapphr moved on top and sat down. He didn't look so cocky now, with two facefuls of eager muff to satisfy. Sapphr moved forward and pulled her shaven cunt lips open again. Energised by the sexy sight, he started lapping away vigorously within her delicious crack. Katrina watched the tongue excitedly licking Sapphrs willing, wet cunt, and noticed his cock had sprung erect again. Time for more action. She moved over and sat on his cock, rubbing the cum-soaked tip over her vagina until the juices were flowing then pushing it in. It slid in to the hilt, and his balls were pressed against her clitoris. She began riding the young blonde slowly, feeling his balls rub her clit each time she came down again. For a moment she considered attempting to stuff his balls inside also, but decided against it. Well, he wasn't a virgin any more, even if he didn't realize it yet with the faceful of Sapphrs cunt he was eyeing up, but Katrina knew he wouldn't last long in any case. She wanted more than a quick boink and that meant squeezing his balls just tight enough to hold him off from cumming but not to hurt him. The nice smooth length filled her perfectly and massaged her insides. She adjusted the angle of penetration until the 13 year old cock was stimulating her g-spot. A few times she stopped moving with his cock buried entirely within her, and rubbed his tight balls over her clitoris. This was how she wanted it. She was in charge, she would make herself cum exactly the way she wanted, and there was nothing he could do about it. Sapphr was grinning at her as she watched the juice-lubricated length plunging in and out of Katrinas pussy. Her pert little breasts were bobbing up and down as she rode the boys cock, her wet lips visibly clinging to its length each time it withdrew. Sapphr followed Katrinas example and urged him on each time he started losing concentration from the attention being paid to his cock. As bad as her English was, she made herself understood without a problem. When the effort got too much for him again, she started moving back and forth while he held his tongue still, wishing as she did so that he'd sucked more lollipops to strengthen his tongue. She took longer than her friend to come, and shuddered as his gentle ministrations to her clitoris helped her to a nice climax. Sapphr thought twice about climbing off in case he came the moment he realized Katrina was fucking his brains out and not vigorously deep-throating him. But from the way she was fucking him faster and faster with her eyes closed, she reckoned her friend was pretty close so it wouldn't do any harm to let him know. Sapphr got up to watch the fireworks. He lay there, looking up at her, then looked down to watch the action and his eyes went wide. His mouth followed suit when he saw his cock embedded in Katrinas vagina. Seconds later he trembled then screamed as he came again. Katrina followed suit moments later, and climbed off. A stream of come fell from her cunt and onto his stomach, as a last big spurt of thick white semen landed on his chest. They surveyed the result of their combined efforts. God, he was a mess. Jism and female juices liberally covered him from his face to his cock. Still shivering from his orgasm, he looked back at them. "Could you untie me now?" he asked, grinning like anything. "Ummm... yeah, sure", Katrina replied. She helped him to his feet, dusted off his back, then pushed him over to the tree and used his discarded t-shirt to tie him securely to it. "AAAAAAAARRGGGGHH!!!" "Is that smile for me, Sapphr?", a besuited figure asked. Definitely not, you moron. Back to reality. Groan. "Sapphr?", a female voice asked out of the Blue a short time later. Oh... Vanessa. She hadn't heard the door open. "And what would you like?", she asked. "I want to apologize..." "Forget it." "No, I mean it. I honestly had no idea they were going to do this to you. I feel kind of responsible, and I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my apartment for drinks straight after work?" "It's not your problem, but thanks anyway." Vanessa looked hopeful. "Oh, what the heck, thats very decent of you, I could do with a couple, Miss...." "Fitzgerald. Just call me Vanessa. I'm not one for formalities, unlike someone we both know." That drew the smile she expected, and they laughed at the shared vulnerability. Time to act, Hicks decided. Hefting a satchel of equipment, he waited for lunchtime when the Company office was unoccupied. If he was caught doing this, he was screwed, but what could they do that they hadn't already? Expel him from the ranks? His record was forever marked "Court martialed and reduced to the ranks for misuse of Authority and failure to maintain discipline, resulting in loss of life and equipment", so he might as well resign for what his name was worth. Forget promotions, or trust, or anything he'd fought for. He'd always be watched for signs of further instability. If he'd cocked up he'd have understood and even agreed, but he'd gone by the book and been damned by it. Well, he made it a point to never blithely accept the status quo if it put him at a disadvantage; like now. Jesus, he couldn't believe he was doing this; a warzone was positively boring by comparison to the fear he felt now. Think positive, he reminded himself. If he succeeded, this would take pride of place in his diary and maybe even an Autobiography. 'The year of living dangerously' would make a nice title for that, but then he was too modest for such an undertaking. Thirty minutes. Plenty of time to get in and splice some bugs into the communications. He went for it as soon as the Blonde secretary had left for lunch. First there was that security camera monitoring the outside door. No problem. He stooped to hide his face as he walked up to it, then snipped the cable. The President saw the display die. Time to bring in the tech boys. He'd let Sapphr handle it when she came back, he was working through his normal lunchtime on a message he'd rather Vanessa not see. He'd have his later. She was totally trustworthy, and wouldn't do something silly by herself in his office while he was away. Now the door. Hicks drilled into the thumbprint ID box where Hudson had shown him years before, then used the leverage to pull it open. Bypass the CPU and touch those 2 wires... the door unlocked. The speaker grille next to the door remained silent, a good sign. Inside, he followed the secretarys phone line to the junction box under the desk. Now came the hard part. Six extension number labelled optic fibres were inside, and they're infinitely harder than electrical wires to attach to without a loss of signal calling for investigation. Which ones held the voice/picture and data communications? Damn, he'd have to bug all of them and work it out one at a time. First the bug was fitted into the box, then he sorted the tools to snip the fibres one at a time and fit both ends into a beam-splitting sleeve. This drew a miniscule amount of signal for the bug to amplify and transmit for him to listen to at his leisure. It seemed almost too easy; he'd brought the tools to handle Armoured and Vacuum protected lines, but nothing special was needed. The door beeped as someones ID was accepted. A glance at his watch told the story, half an hour had passed. Fuck! Hicks rolled under the desk to hide, pulling the chair into place behind him as he did so. A womans footsteps entered, followed by several men talking amongst themselves. Right, he'd fight his way out if he had to. "Okay Sapphr, your lunchtime is over. Back to work", someone said. Hmmm, a person with an attitude problem, he thought. The inner door slid shut and the voices promptly disappeared without a trace. "Fucking arseholes", the woman called after them. Her legs appeared, and the chair was pulled out. She sat down and pushed it forward to start work. Oh, shit! The inevitable promptly happened, and her knee nudged him. She stumbled back in a state of shock, and looked underneath... He averted his face and was about to make a run for it, when she sat back down again and moved forward. She did NOT pick up a phone or intercom. Endless seconds passed as he heard frantic scribbling. Oh jeez, now what? Hicks thought to himself. Sapphr passed a note and pen under the desk. "Are you an industrial spy?" it read. She could have reported him instantly, but she hadn't. Also, there seemed to be some serious friction here. Enough perhaps, that she might actually want to help. Decide. The inner door opened again. The same voices emerged, then went silent. Hicks sensed rather than heard one move to stand next to the secretary. There was five seconds of total silence before he spoke, slowly and carefully elucidating each word as he went. "Sapphr, you are being paid to work, as I understand it. But you haven't done anything whatsoever since I last saw you." She inserted some paper into the word processor and started typing. "I don't expect to have to tell you again... alright?" he continued, before leaving with his friend. That made up his mind. "YES" Hicks wrote, and held up the pen and paper. Promptly she stopped typing and started scribbling again. "Are you trying to bug the place?" was the next note. "Yes", he replied again. "Extension 770 is the Presidents office." was the reply.. Hot damn! We're in business. He turned and continued where he'd left off. Maybe Roberts time was closer than she'd thought. It appeared she was shortly going to be an Eyewitness to some very interesting events. But there was one niggling point about this. She didn't know of ANY competition to the ICC company, and that made her all the more interested in who he was. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to ask too many questions. A light suddenly went on. Maybe he could repay her help in another way Hicks snipped the wire labelled "770". Neither cut end glowed, meaning it hadn't been in use at the time. Brilliant! He slipped both ends into the bug and sealed the junction box. Only a deliberate search would find this thing. Now lets get out of here. Sapphr blocked his path. "Finished", he wrote, and handed her pen and paper back. She sat forward in the chair, searched around for his head with her hands. When she found it, she pulled up her dress, spread her legs and started pulling him toward her waiting cunt. He resisted and tried to free his head but she was having none of it. It was only when he smelled closeup the fragrant sweat-like odor of her cunt, that he realized what she wanted. The penultimate joke on Robert. No way would she give herself to him just to get back into his good books. He'd proven himself a fair weather friend many times over, and the moment he got bored with her she'd simply be moved out here again. But she happily gave herself to this spy under her desk. He was more of a man than Robert *ever* would be. The sheer cheek of sneaking into the ICC Presidents office... who would have credited it? Eat me! She wrapped her legs around Hicks head, pulling his face into her willing, wet pussy. He pulled aside her white undies, exposing the pink folds of her secret lips. Two fingers opened her wings to his gaze, the little clitoris springing proudly to attention, awaiting the touch of his tongue. An index finger swirled straight into the depths of Sapphrs vagina as his tongue began flicking her clit. Nobody would ever believe he'd done this, he thought. This was yet another story he'd have to keep forever to himself. Her long smooth legs and the partly shaven pussy between them drove Hicks on, licking and licking the tiny love bud. He fondled her hot upper thighs and rubbed all around, touching all the sensitive parts she wanted explored, especially now. She leaned back slightly, and Hicks took the hint to feel the sensitive flesh around her tiny puckered anus. Not many men liked doing that; in her school and University days she'd had to urge on boyfriends who didn't like it. The only one who readily agreed to this liked having a hand under her bottom while eating her out, and was more than happy to do as she asked. More points to this man. He pushed another finger into her cunt, and spread it wide for his viewing pleasure. Exposed, he could see Sapphrs love tunnel curving into her body. A third and fourth finger promptly followed, filling her nicely. It was amazing watching the formerly nearly hidden vagina opening wider and wider to easily accommodate his fingers. Slowly he swirled them in to the knuckle and started fucking her that way, swirling them around and around to thoroughly satisfy her. God knows, if he didn't do a good job she'd probably report his presence. Each time the fingers came out a droplet or two of lubricant followed, and before long enough had emerged to dribble down onto her dress. At least the synthetic material wouldn't show a stain from the outside. The little clitoris received a fresh burst of attention, his tongue furiously lashing the little transparent-looking button. She responded by rubbing his back with her feet, a good sign. More, more, she silently begged him. He backed off to prolong the delightful torture, and moved his tongue to the very top of her wide-spread gash. Slowly, very slowly, he started moving it down. Over her clitoris, down, down, towards her gaping vagina with his slick fingers still exploring its depths. When he finally got there she wanted to scream, and when he pushed it deep into her wet cunt it was almost too much. A groan escaped her lips. A few moments later he withdrew and continued licking downward, stopping just short of her anus. That was a no-go area, even for an avid cunnilingus fan like Hicks. He wanted to suggest that she hold her knees to her chest to improve access to her anus, but there was no way of telling when more execs would pass through. Lets try something different. He inserted his index finger to the hilt, past the pubic bone, and began pressing upward while probing around, trying to make the g-spot area swell and make itself known to him. It wasn't easy doing this while stimulating her clitoris at the same time, and it was tiring for his wrist, to say the least. He preferred trying to find it while his partner was lying face down on the bed with a pillow under her hips, so he could insert his fingers palm down and stimulate the upper vaginal wall more easily. Also, he could alternate between playing with her bottom and holding his partners cunt lips open to rub her clitoris, watching the juices flowing down her crack as a result. Sapphr loved being explored so thoroughly yet tenderly, with all her innermost secrets exposed to a mans gaze. A few times she'd even thought of being one of the volunteers who allowed themselves to be examined by trainee doctors, so they could learn how to do it without additional discomfort for the patients. That idea quickly faded when she got older. She felt the urge to urinate with her urethra being stimulated so, but this definitely was NOT the time or place for that. He had no way of knowing if she would come with that area being stimulated alone, but at the very least the combination of his tongue in her groove and his finger on the g-spot would bring her off nicely. He settling into a pattern, rubbing the swollen area deep inside Sapphr, while licking her clitoris faster and faster. She had long since stopped working and sat back to concentrate on what he was doing. Her long legs were resting on his back and rubbing him occasionally, urging him on to greater heights of passion. The closer she got to coming, the tighter she gripped him. Suddenly she groaned loudly and pushed his head with both hands into her cunt and closed her legs around it, nearly suffocating him. She trembled and a long stream of juice poured over his fingers down onto her dress. After a 'goodbye' kiss on her clitoris from Hicks, she pulled her undies back into place before letting him go. "Come back anytime," she said as he hurried off. Despite the best Robert&Co could do, Sapphr was one happy secretary for the rest of that day. After work she accompanied Vanessa to her apartment for the promised drinkies. "Nice place." Sapphr commented. "Thank you, mind if I light up?" "Not at all." She watched as the Boss' new secretary lit up a denicotined cigarette. Guaranteed safe for your health. "Name your drink", she asked, indicating a dozen assorted liquers and spirits. Not the real thing, but the Gateway labs insisted they tasted the same. "Southern comfort would be nice" she replied, and watched as Vanessa mixed her drink. "I hear the executives were giving you a hard time today?" "Yes, they tried, but I can give as good as I get." "So I gathered. I liked your Frenchwoman joke, they were talking about it in the office." "I'll bet they were. It was either that or tell him he's the load that should have been swallowed." Vanessa laughed, and sat down next to her new friend with their drinks. "Nice comebacks, I ought to build up a repertoire myself. From school?" "Around and about, I used to mix with a rowdy bunch of people, you only had to keep your ears open to get a good education." "I don't drink myself", she explained when Sapphr glanced towards her glass of milk. "You don't what you're missing." "Maybe; it just never appealed to me." A tuft of hair fell across Vanessa's face when she took another sip. She tolerated it for a few moments then threw her head back to get it out of the way. To Sapphr it looked like a polished move. She knew some men took the gesture as a come on if done right. "Have you got a boyfriend, Vanessa?" "Gateway doesn't allow Pets." Sapphr nearly choked on her drink. "Guess not, then. It's been a few months since my last. I feel this isn't really the place for it." "Any idea what you'll do, now you're not the apple of Roberts eye?" Vanessa asked, politely changing the subject. "Ummm, I haven't really given it much thought yet, at the moment I want to stick it out, the moneys still decent." "Good for you. Although I expect they'll wait a discreet few months before announcing a staff reshuffling or some such thing, so you might as well get another job up your sleeve." "Thanks for the tip, I'll do that." It was nearly 2am when Sapphr got back to her apartment, bleary eyed from sleep and alcohol. Didn't that woman ever get tired? No matter how nice her new friend was, there came a time when she simply HAD to leave. Vanessa was due at work in under 5 hours, and she looked just as fresh as ever when she left. Sapphr crashed and was asleep moments after she got back to her apartment. Weeks after the Sulaco departed with a new crew, Bishop was still waiting to be reassigned. No orders had come through, which was decidedly odd. As a Military Hyperdine Android, part of his job was to keep himself as up to date as possible with developments and news; anything that might possibly benefit a future mission. That included looking for humorous items of news to boost troop morale in the right circumstances. Lately there'd only been two such stories in the electronic media. A Wife went off on holiday and her Husband took the opportunity to visit the local Cat-house. He'd paid his money and discovered the girl was... his wife, who'd taken the job to earn extra money. Then there were the fake Poltergeist hunters who'd been caught using special effects to terrorize householders, then demanding exorbitant sums to clean their places out. He entered his personal communications login, and was surprised to promptly receive notice of an "urgent and personal" message waiting for him. Interesting. A new posting wouldn't have been accorded this high a priority. In fact he'd never received a purely personal message in his life. "Call Hyperdine systems repair dept IMMEDIATELY!!" What? Bishop was stumped. They'd missed nothing in his repairs, he'd have detected it instantly and reminded them if they had. Despite the late hour in Hyperdine he phoned the company, and his call was automatically transferred to a private number. The technician who'd repaired him answered the call after a long delay. The curse trembling on his lips died when he recognized the caller. "Bishop! Thank goodness you got my message. Back in a minute, I have to tidy myself up." "You're in big trouble", he declared upon his return. The ICC company wants you decommissioned and out of the way - permanently", he said on his return. "Why me?" "Something to do with your last op out. Your memory and recall can't be challenged in a court of law, and you know some things they don't want released. Hyperdine is fighting it tooth and nail, because one report of a high-tech product failure would put their reputation on the line. I had to warn you. Do you know anyone who can help?" Bishop was at a complete loss. His dedication to his job had been beyond reproach, and now he was threatened with destruction. There wasn't any choice now, he had to test his hunch. "Thanks for the warning, I think I know someone in a position to stop this." "Thats good, I've got a lot of effort invested in you, and it's my job on the line as well if you don't succeed or get yourself out of there." Ripley returned that evening from shopping for that special item to decorate the apartment. She'd settled on a half meter high color hologram of African Primates sitting in trees with foreground mist drifting past. Yes, it looked good on the wall about here, where the Sunlight would show it to best effect. She walked back and forth several times to admire the effect. Ripley had a long hot soothing shower to remove the days accumulated grime from the cargo bay. It was hopeless trying to keep out the dust from the transient mining equipment, you just had to put up with it till your shift was over; and she couldn't very well shower with the men at days end. She put on clean white panties and a dressing gown then started preparing dinner. Newt would be back from school soon. How she'd changed after talking about Acheron for the first time. Ripley grinned at the memory of some of the things she'd listened to. Several times lately Newt had had school friends around for tea, a good sign of progress. Even her guidance counseller had rung to tell Ripley about the changes. The phone buzzed quietly for attention. No rest for the wicked; she hadn't even had a chance to rest her feet yet. "Hi Ripley, how're you keeping?" Hicks asked when she answered his call. "Fine thanks, we've settled in well... I thought you might've shipped out by now?" "They'll decide if I'm in or out after the next psych evaluation. It feels great, after all I've done for them...", he replied, clenching his fists. "I know exactly how you feel. Say, if things don't work out, you're welcome to stay here till you've found a place." "If it's no problem for you?" "Once I know, I can plan for it." Ripley got up and fetched her slippers before returning to the console. As she sat down again, the Dressing gown fell part way open to reveal plenty of cleavage and some of her panties. Ripley made no move to correct the situation. Hicks gulped. Her underwear weren't quite up properly; he could plainly see the top of her mound and a few hairs poking out. Looking up, he could see part of the areola of one pointy breast and nearly the nipple. Dammit, he thought. She knows what she's doing. A thin smile crossed her face. "If if comes to it, I'll gladly take you up on that offer." At 1 am station time Hicks started his last ditch effort to bring the Company president to heel. The Bug had done its job but nothing useful had come of it - everything was encoded and all there was to hear was white noise. He'd hoped to record some interesting material to hand anonymously to the media. Now he knew why it'd been so easy to bug the line; why spend lots protecting it when you can encode the transmission? Of course the secretary didn't know, calls to his office went direct. Bugger it. The Police have simple minds, he thought. So lets give them a simple story. The beauty of his plan was, the President had so many enemies that even if they figured it wasn't the chance in a million it appeared, they wouldn't know where to start looking. He'd spent days preparing the heavy, hollow steel tube he was hefting. It was packed with two of the blocks of plastic explosive he'd taken, together with a little Iron meteorite he'd purchased at some expense. It was the only thing that wouldn't arouse suspicion. When the circuit was complete, the moment it was exposed to sunlight it would trigger the electric detonator and blast the meteorite through his window. Primitive, he thought; but it would suffice. But he still had to get to the Presidents window and attach the tube by magnet to a strut, which meant a spacewalk. They'd learned the basics 'in case of emergency'; the main thing was to always move slowly and forget nothing. If you forgot where you were, you might not be able to correct a mistake. Maintenance had a collection of fully-prepared suits on standby in case of hull breach, but he still had to disable the airlock sensors so its use wouldn't be detected. Fully suited up, he reduced the airlock pressure some as a final check of suit integrity, then bled the rest into space. Pitch darkness greeted him when the outside door opened. It took some seconds to orientate himself with the view as the station was currently in darkness over the Earths nightside. Hicks took hold of the first handhold and pulled himself outside. Gateways skeletal frame seemingly stretched to infinity above and below him as his feet swung out in the zero gravity. Handholds went in all directions along the outside for the construction and maintenance workers, and he started picking his way along, scrupulously avoiding observation windows, heading for a distant flashing red beacon close to his destination. The night would last half an hour, maximum. No way could he make that distance in 30 minutes, so for at least one 90-minute period he'd have to stop and hide in shadows. After twenty minutes of pulling himself hand-over-hand he was closing on the presidents office. Hicks could plainly see the one-way glass dully reflecting the beacon as he homed on the very corner of Gateway. Then the light level began increasing around him. The crescent forming on Earth's horizon only confirmed what he knew; the sun was on its way and it was time to hide. He headed for an inside corner facing away from Earth, reaching it scant seconds before the station lit up. Oh well, ninety minutes wasn't so bad, it could be worse. The sheer contrast prevented his being seen, but from his vantage point he could see everything. He pulled the gun from his belt, set the timer some hours hence and plugged in the final wire. Ready. It wouldn't go active until just before the dawn he wanted; the office was unoccupied before then so it didn't matter how obvious it was. It's job done, the force of its detonation would push it away without a trace. Clean and tidy. On Gateway, things were organized such that there were always people on duty. It was "evening" in this part of the station. Elsewhere, people were waking up for their shift while others were having lunch. The lights across from Hicks were steadily winking out. No, he mustn't fall asleep, he thought. Not now. Hicks briefly peered down at the partly lit crescent of the Earth. Unexpectedly, a zinc-colored flash of light streaked across his field of view then faded, leaving a trail that vanished in moments. A meteor. Wow! He'd never seen one from above before. He moved back to the deepest shadow and turned on the suit radio; anything to keep him awake. Nigel Hepburn was having his fifteenth Birthday just across from where Hicks was hiding. It'd been a great day for him, he'd toured the whole station and spent hours looking at Earth through a Telescope. Now he was waiting for his highly-paid Father to return from work for Dinner. He was helping a friend of the family, thirty-two year old Tracey, prepare tonights dinner. His Mother had chosen to remain on Earth during her Husbands 2 month posting, and he'd obtained permission for his son to come up for 3 days to have his birthday here. Jealous school friends had been calling all day to belately wish him happy birthday. He was 6 foot 4 with brown hair, brown eyes, and wore glasses for distance. Surgery or contacts could have corrected this, but he was allergic to the thought of either option. Nigel liked it when Tracey dropped by from the repair dept she worked in, she was voluble and always had a collection of new jokes for him. Not to mention, he quite liked her full stop. She looked younger than her years, and had a freckled appearance she'd similarly chosen to keep. Nigel liked freckles, and reckoned they went well with her curly, shoulder length Red hair and general outlook. Tonight she was wearing a black dress which showed plenty of leg. Nigel was going to have to be careful not to let his unprofessional interest in her be noticed; she hadn't got where she was without good observation skills. Repairing the hardware she did often took microscopes to spot tiny breaks after the fault had been localized; and that was her forte. As soon as everything was prepared they sat for drinks while dinner heated and to await his Fathers return. Tracey sat exactly opposite from Nigel, which he liked because occasionally he got glimpses up her smooth legs. Careful... she might notice the undue attention he reminded himself, and quickly he averted his eyes. But inevitably they wandered back. "...So, have your family called you yet?", Tracey asked. "They rang right before you dropped by. It was nice to see them again. How about yours?" "I haven't talked with them for a few days. I got a message at work the other day from Sheryl, so I ought to get back to them." She bent down for her glass again, and Nigel got a glimpse of cleavage. Too much. His amorous thoughts awakened a part of his body he'd rather remain dormant right now, and he moved to subtly cover up. Abruptly Tracey stood up and looked out the window almost directly at Hicks, whose heart thumped before he forced himself to remember there was no way she could see him. She turned and walked over to sit next to Nigel, whose semi-hardon had gone down sufficiently for him to uncover it. She was sitting close enough for him to feel the heat radiating from her body and faintly smell her perfume. Those legs he'd admired for so long were within reach, yet they might as well have been miles away. This close, he could even see the thin red hairs on her legs. His hardon began to move again, and he was forced to discretely cover up for the second time. "Nice haircut," he commented. "You're the first to notice. And just so I can't be accused of the same thing, you've had yours trimmed this evening too." "The hairdresser gave me a nice scalp massage while she was about it. I didn't want her to stop, and it nearly sent me to sleep", Nigel said "You like it too? So do I, it beats any massage I think. I had mine continue a bit longer also. She said lots of people like it but she only does it for regulars." "Hers was the first I've had. I didn't know it felt that good" "Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a form of subtle persuasion to get people to come along more often. I thought only mine had cottoned onto it." Nigel refilled his drink. The alcohol was beginning to make itself felt, he already felt slightly light-headed. "Would you like me to try it on you?" "That'd be nice thanks, Tracey." She moved closer and placed her fingers on his scalp then began rubbing around as if she was washing his hair. He closed his eyes and let her do as she liked. "Like this?" she asked. "Yes.... thats perfect", Nigel said. "I just don't know if I can do it as well if you want the same." "Thats ok. Just relax, put your hands by your sides. Don't be frightened by me." The hand that had splashed a little perfume onto her neck passed near his nose, and he got a strong whiff. Traceys hot leg pressed against his. Being touched by her was the most sensuous thing he'd known, and he didn't want it to end. "What are you thinking about?", Tracey asked out of the blue. "It feels nice, thats all." "Come on Nigel, you can do better than that. There must be something else. What are you thinking about?" "Such as?" "Am I responsible for that, for instance?" "Pardon?" he asked, hoping she didn't mean what he thought she meant. Long seconds passed without a reply, while Tracey kept massaging his scalp. Nigel opened his eyes, and saw her looking towards his hitherto-covered secret. "I'm sorry", he finally replied, and moved to cover himself again as the hardon started rapidly shrinking. She took hold of his arm, and gently pulled it away. "Don't be", she said. "I think it's cute. Just relax." He closed his eyes again, and her hands vanished from his scalp to reappear a moment later on his chest. She started massaging there, gradually working down to the seat of the problem. Was Tracey just teasing him or was she serious? He didn't want to spoil the atmosphere by asking. "Come on, relax, it's only me. I'm not going to hurt you" she said, holding his arm until his trembling ceased. Then she started massaging his tummy muscles; still working down. Her hands spread to bypass his genitals just before they were about to make contact. Nigel was simultaneously pleased and disappointed, she'd already made some of his dreams come true so he couldn't expect more. Then she put a finger directly on his cock and delicately traced it's length. Nigel jumped upright and opened his eyes wide. ... As Tracey pulled down his zipper and eased the flaps open before resting her delicate hand on his hardon, which was barely restrained by his underpants. "Do you want to make love to me?" she asked. He nodded assent. "You've been thinking about it for a long time, I know. Come on, we've got plenty of time before your Father comes back." And she led him to the master bedroom, still in Hicks' full view. Tracey motioned for him to get onto the bed then she climbed on top and lay on him. Instantly they intertwined, his hands on her back, hers on the sides of his head as they passionately kissed. She overwhelmed him, rubbing her lithe body on his, rubbing his crotch with her leg, while tongue darting in to explore the recesses of his mouth. Nigel had to fight to catch up with her fiery enthusiasm. Her breasts poking into his chest woke him from her spell, and he put a hand between them to tweak a boob. She giggled and moved off to lie next to him, moving her hand to it's former position as she did. On his cock. She looked back at him, hair unkempt, a dirty grin on her face. This was her game, no doubt about that. "Why me?" "You're cute, and I've wanted to have the chance since I first laid eyes on you. Just don't tell anyone." "I'm not that stupid." "Have you had much experience?", she replied. "Never." "Leave it to me then, I'll take good care of you." Tracey took his hand and put it on her breast, and instructed him in exactly how she liked her breasts touched. He probed it's weight, feeling every curve and noting the way it responded to his touch. Nigel reached up and started undoing her woolen Jersey from top to bottom. She shrugged out of it and he returned to touching her breasts. Soon he wanted more and started undoing her white shirt as well to expose her bra, then reached behind and undid the catch of her bra, and let him pull it off. God, Tracey was beautiful. There wasn't much contrast between her breasts and skin, but redheads didn't tan that well he'd heard. Her pointy, medium size breasts jutted out, simply demanding to be touched. What could a man do but oblige? He put his mouth onto a pointy nipple and started sucking whilst rubbing the other. Her breasts hardly moved from his touch, they were that firm. Tracey stroked his cock and the back of his head. "Good boy, it's breastfeeding time", she commented. He kneeded her breasts and rubbed and licked her nipples alternately until they were good and hard. With difficulty she pulled his pants off and threw them aside. Then a hand slid inside his underpants and for the first time he felt the exquisite touch of a womans warm hand on his privates. She took his hand and put it on her leg. He took the cue to start feeling his way up towards her fanny. "Go on", she implored when his hand stopped partway up. "Don't tease me." Thus empowered, he went underneath her black dress and found his way up to her panties. She liked it when he started feeling around and rubbing the seat of her desire, and began rubbing his cock harder. God she was hot around there, he'd heard about it but never imagined it to be so warm 'up there'. "You're overdressed" she muttered, and yanked down his underwear and flung them across the room. Unrestrained, his manhood sprung to attention, the angry purple head aching for attention. Tracey put her hand on it and began stroking it, barely making contact. Nigel pulled Traceys dress up around her waist, exposing her pale blue cotton underwear. Instantly he went back to rubbing her there. This close, he could see the outline of her pubic hair through them. He tried pushing a finger inside the band but it was just too tight and he went back to rubbing her crack through her underwear, which were starting to feel damp. Before long Tracey wanted more, and pulled her panties down a notch to leave the rest for him. He got the idea and pulled them down and off. They joined the clothes on the bedroom floor. When he looked back, she'd spread her legs for him to have a look. He froze at the sight of her red pubic hair and the thin crack visible within. For the first time he smelt the musty odor of a womans sex. "Can I touch?" "Of course you can, just be gentle." Nigel rubbed his way up her legs until he reached Traceys cunt. No reaction, she wanted him to go further. He started touching, feeling, and exploring. He put two fingers next to the lips and pulled them open until pinkness stared back. The sexy odor became stronger and he moved closer still, to within inches. Nigel put a finger into the wide-open crack then let her lips go. As he watched, his finger was enclosed by her erotic warm and dark red hair. Experimentally he rubbed it up and down along the length of Traceys crack, which was distinctly damp to the touch. Now he wanted to see everything, and he pulled her lips open until they couldn't go any wider. Soft, gleaming pink was exposed to his gaze. He touched every hair and every curve between her legs over and over. "Rub me... here.. could you?" Tracey indicated the top of her crack. He moved his finger up and started rubbing there. Gradually he discerned a harder spot in the midst of her sex and concentrated on that. Further down he could see the flesh curving inwards to disappear behind her hood. Was this?... the forefinger of his other hand ventured there to find out. Gently he pushed it in and felt the surface give, then it was sliding inwards, all the way to the hilt. "Yes, thats where you'll be soon. If you want to be daring, you can lick me where your other finger is." "You mean, in there?" "Uh huh." He didn't know if he could, but he tried an experimental lick at the spot she'd indicated. A faint salty flavour came back while her vaginal musk assailed his nostrils. 'Not too bad' he decided, and tucked in to give Tracey the licking she wanted. The longer he kept it up, the fainter the odor became until he figured he'd licked her clean. By now he was pumping the finger in and out, dragging droplets of liquid out each time he withdrew. The crack he was licking was similarly getting wetter as time went by. Whether he was causing that he didn't know, but he was beginning to really enjoy this as he licked her cunt. She draped her legs around his shoulders. The long, smooth hot legs around him urged him on to greater heights of lovemaking, and he pushed his tongue harder than ever over her clitoris. "Thats nice, I like that", she commented. Hicks was watching the coupling starting to take place nearby with a mixture of bemusement and guilt for looking. He turned away to regard the rest of the station. "What the hell, what they don't know won't hurt them", he muttered to himself and turned back. His Marine friends would have approved of this decision. He was still holding the weightless but not inertialess tube. Idly, he set it down next to him. "I'm not in love with you, Nigel, but I'm going to let you have the ultimate experience." He stopped licking and looked up. Tracey pulled her legs together and removed her dress. Now she was completely naked. He started to move up, but she had other ideas. "Lie back, I want to be on top." They moved into position for his first ever fuck. Tracey sat up and reached into her handbag. Out came a tube of lubricant. whilst feeling his cock and balls, she dripped lots of the cold liquid onto his cock. "Brrr..." "Don't be such a wuss", she replied. The lubricant warmed in seconds as she rubbed it over his cock until he was slick. Then she climbed up on top. He looked into her eyes and held his hands out to caress her breasts again as she came down. She reached between them to take hold of his cock and start rubbing it into her crack. He yelped as a too-sensitive part of his cock was rubbed. "Move around until you get it right, thats one thing I can't do for you." He did as she asked until the underside of his cock-head was rubbing inside her smooth wet crack. She sensed he was ready for more and started rubbing it faster and harder, using his cock to rub her clit. "I like doing this, it makes me soooo fucking randy, I just gotta have a good screw to finish off." Nigel had never heard language like this from her, in fact he didn't know she was capable of it. She stopped, and moved back. A pleasant warmth enclosed his cock, then she let go of it and pushed down. He felt her pubic hair against his balls. "You're not a virgin any more, Nigel, you're all the way inside me. I don't have a problem with lubricant in case you're wondering, it's so you'll last longer coz I want a good long fuck. I want you to tell me when you're getting close to coming, okay?" He nodded assent, and she began moving. Traceys breasts were so firm, they hardly moved while her hard nipples rubbed their way across his chest. She adjusted position slightly until it was just right and she got a good rhythm going. "Ah... Ah... Ah..." she let out little yelps of pleasure as she fucked Nigel. She was nearly half a foot shorter than he, and he looked squarely into her eyes only when she withdrew prior to impaling herself again. Nigel was in heaven as warm massaging tightness enclosed his cock. "I'm getting tired, could you put you hands on my hips and help me along?" Nigel held her tightly and pushed her body back and forth, driving his cock in to the hilt every time. Each time he felt her pubic hair against his, her expression twitched, and her vagina fluttered around his cock, gripping it tighter. "This'll build up those lovely muscles of yours some more, Nigel." They both laughed at that, before concentrating on their furious lovemaking once more. The only sounds were their heavy breathing, the occasional kiss, moans, and the slapping of her thighs and breasts against his body. "I'm going to be come shortly", he finally announced. "Stop for a minute then... I want to do something." Again, she reached into the handbag she'd brought into the bedroom with her. This time, out came a slim smooth vibrator. She moved forward to pull him partway out, then lay flat against him. She turned on the vibrator and adjusted it's speed then reached behind her and slid it in right alongside Nigels cock. Tracey bade him to resume fucking while she pushed the vibrator in and out in synch. He pulled out, she pushed it in, and vice versa. Two cocks inside her hole at once. She started trembling moments before Nigel started cumming from the extra tightness and the shared vibrations. "Oh my god... Oh my god..." he began saying, then he spilled over. The look on his face turned to one of agony. He was positively quiet by comparison as they came together. She felt a sudden splash of warmth inside her as his cum started to fill her up. One long spurt after another coated her insides and started dribbing out. The cunt juice on his cock turned white. Long dribbles of come poured down and neither of them cared, they were enjoying the greatest shared experience. She removed the vibrator and showed the fluid covered length to Nigel before wiping it off and hiding it in her bag again. They lay together, she still on top of him, until his softening cock slipped out. Hicks watched as Nigel opened Traceys cunt lips wide to see the result of their combined efforts, before they showered together and wiped each others privates clean before drying each other and dressing together. The light level started dropping around Hicks as he watched them return to the lounge and chatting over more drinks. Christ, the largest part of ninety minutes had gone quickly, watching them. Moments later it was pitch black and time to resume his interrupted journey. He put his hand out to pick up the tube. It wasn't there. Oh, he must have put it back in his belt. Nope, it wasn't there either. Ummm, where was it? His skin crawled. He'd put it down. In zero gravity. He frantically looked around for it, but it was nowhere to be seen. Reluctantly he looked outwards, and quickly spotted the tube glinting in the moonlight, dozens of meters away at least. It might as well be on the other side of the Solar system, it was just as untouchable. For a moment he hated himself like no other, then realised his mistake was an entirely human one. He could replace the tube and try again, but he'd almost certainly be posted before then. No doubt there'd be another time. Slowly he turned his back on the corner of the station and headed back to the airlock. He'd refill the oxygen in the suit and re-enable the airlock sensors to leave no trace of his presence. No close yet so far... Ripley awoke two hours before dawn, and tossed and turned until she realised she wasn't going to get any more shut-eye till she'd gotten up and done something. So she got up for a walk around and a drink of water. Ripley stepped out onto the 50th floor apartment balcony to watch the view for a few minutes. The street was lit by a dazzling half full moon. At this time there were only a few vehicles and the odd person moving around, and little else. The cold night breeze fanned over Ripley, making her shiver. Some movement caught her eye. An oblong, faintly glowing shape crawled up between two buildings. It wasn't until it cleared them that she realised it was the gateway station, glowing by it's onboard lights. Unexpectedly it turned red then blazed into life as it moved out of Earths shadow into daylight. She didn't envy them. Twelve sunrises and sets a day for them. One of each was sufficient for her. The sudden little puff of gas just ahead of it took her by surprise. Hello, a rocket? No, ion engines were invisible. An accident, perhaps? Not likely. In any case, she'd hear about it soon enough if anything had happened. Robert was even more surprised when the sudden soundless detonation blazed forth several kilometers away. Fragments of metal from Hicks' shattered gun went in all directions as the Iron meteorite became the first ever to make the journey to Earth, then back into Solar orbit. "What the hell...", he muttered, as he watched the gas plume expand and slowly fade away. He'd almost forgotten all about it when lunchtime came around again. Vanessa was finishing some work, and she'd join him and his friends for a few drinks over a hot lunch. Shortly after his departure she noticed on the security monitor a balding figure walk up to the outside door and wait there, ignoring the "Office closed for lunch" sign. After a few minutes she figured he surely must have realised, so she decided to talk. "Hello, the office is closed until one. Is it important?" Her voice wafted from the speaker grille. "It is. Can we talk?" "Are you after the Company president?" "No, I have to talk to you, Vanessa." Interesting. What was important enough that someone would want to talk to her personally, especially now? "Hang on, I'll be out in a minute." Vanessa buzzed Bishop into the outside office. "I don't think we've met" she said. "How well do you know Hyperdine products?" "Not very well, thats not really my department." "How about the 600 model?" "As I said, thats not my department. Unless theres something important, I think you'd better come back later." Bishop showed her the tattoo on his arm, listing his make and model number. It took Vanessa nearly an entire millisecond to consider her reply. Alright, they had things to discuss. "Military hyperdine unit. Okay, apartment 1793, 6pm sharp. Now, you'd better leave before you're noticed. I'll see you then." Vanessa had set out two glasses of milky lubricant and changed out of her work clothes when he got there. He glanced at the cigarette burning in an ashtray. "We're alone; the cigarette's mine. The President likes me to show some little shortcomings", she commented. "Now, I think I deserve to know how you found out who I am, Mr..." "Bishop. I overheard a conversation you had a few weeks ago. Your attitude struck me first of all. And as good as the engineers are these days, some limb movements aren't as fluid as humans." "Well well, thats something I never considered. I was told I wouldn't be able to identify other 600 models and they were right; I haven't. I'd need to spend time around fellow synthetics as you've done before I could do the same." "But now," Vanessa continued, "I'd like to hear your story. Why did you contact me?" "I'm scheduled for destruction. I need your help." "On what grounds was that course of action decided?" "During my last mission out, I came in contact with an exceedingly hostile organism that your Company wants. And they don't want anyone credible around who might conceivably take the witness stand against them." "So thats how I come into it. I see. Well, I've unrestricted access to all ICC computer data. Tomorrow I'll take a look and see what I find... interesting... the President instructed me not to go outside my area of work, otherwise I'd have looked through everything to learn all possible aspects of my job. I just assumed he wanted his privacy, but now it sounds more like he was avoiding a conflict of interest on my part." "The 600 model is everything I was told it was. Nice functionality." "Thank you, Bishop. It's nice to be appreciated for what I am, for once. Unlike you, the Hyperdine people weren't restricted so they did things exactly the way they wanted. It's kind of fun, blending in without anyone except Robert knowing who I am. Sometimes I wonder how they'd react if they knew, would they treat me differently and so forth." "Do you want to be in a different place?" "Yes. Definitely. But it's not like I can opt out. In Roberts eyes I'm the perfect female employee, and my efficiency doesn't come into it. He's a great believer in 'Jus primae noctis'" "I haven't heard that phrase before." "Never mind, I thought it'd been relegated to the history books centuries ago. But it's nice to be able to speak my mind to someone who won't say anything." "Comes with the territory. People seem to like someone quiet, once in a while." At seven thirty she bade him to leave, knowing that Robert was due there in thirty minutes. He often turned up early, so she didn't want to take the chance of being caught. She promised to get in touch as soon as she'd dug out the information. At work the next day, Vanessa's eidetic memory absorbed dozens of pages per second; to human eyes it was just a blur. She'd gone straight for the highest classification "Black" science area and quickly located the Bio-weapons division. What she found surprised, then appalled her. The company had flouted every ethical and moral law in its dealings. Nothing mattered, even life itself was expendable if in the long run it advanced their aims. She couldn't harm, or by inaction allow to be harmed a human being. Vanessas internal programming compelled her to bring this up with Robert but she held back, knowing the consequences of such a rash move. Not to mention that Hyperdine was already compromised; she would merely be the coup-de-grace if she tried. She decided to check the company's background for any more surprises, and started with the classified history files. The original company name was the Weyland-Yutani corp in honor of its founders, but their noble aspirations were quickly perverted by succeeding management. Within living memory the last vestiges of its humble beginnings were wiped when its name changed to the ICC corp. "The deal of the Century" declared 20th century newspaper headlines of the sale of a Weyland-Yutani supplier to the corporation at a giveaway price. Delving deeper, WY had manoeuvred itself into a position such that its major supplier sold all its products to them. At an opportune moment they simply declared "We will pay... this amount for your wares from now on", and forced them to the wall. The conniving extended to their own employees. A ancient top-secret memoranda recommended the misuse of a devious pitfall and a deliberate loophole in their employee contracts. When someone was interviewed for an internal position, they were offered $x per annum. However, the letter of offer gave the salary as $x-5000. If this was declined, he was transferred anyway - at his current salary. Bishops predicament and this information brought another possibility to mind. She checked the balance of payments to Hyperdine. With a sinking feeling she noted that the last credit transfer occurred just before her purchase. The ICC corp was their biggest customer. It was hardly necessary to check the confidential message logs to find diplomatically worded memos reminding the ICC corp of its dues, and Roberts note to his closest execs planning the next move. Takeover via a 2-pronged attack. Vanessa needed to learn more to decide on a course of action, but this wasn't getting her jobs done. So she asked to stay behind for extra work. Robert shrugged his shoulders as if to say "please yourself", then requested her to turn up at his apartment by 8pm. Jonesy had been stalking for prey without success. The 6 kilo orange furball trudged back through his domain back to Ripleys apartment. The other beat-up Toms gave the battle hardened beast good leeway, while his harem were overlooked and unmolested in his passage. "Hello Jonesy, what've you been up to today, mmm?" Ripley asked the feline when the door flap clattered to announce his return. She stroked Jonesy's back just forward to the tail, his 'sexy spot'. She shouldn't tease him like this, it probably frustrated the Tom no end but she was amused by Jones' reaction; the tail shooting vertical and his head straining upwards while his mouth made biting movements in the air. As expected the big cat went to pieces in her hands. She only had to scratch him the right way and he was putty. "Oh Jonesy, you big softy, you", she commented to the feline as he craned his neck for more of the same. Ripley was a Cat person. Why, she'd only just come to realize. Cats were proud, independent creatures that subtly let it be known they don't really need you except for food. Similarly, she'd realized men seemed to like women who didn't really need them; who wanted him in their life but had other important interests - Newt in her case. Perhaps it was the element of mystery it instilled. She was preparing dinner when Newt came home from school, the happy almost-teenager fairly bursting into the apartment. Newt was slowly gaining a tan and her complexion had changed. A haircut had done wonders for her appearance, and she was barely recognizable from the waif she'd rescued on Acheron. Just before some serious shut-eye, Ripley checked on Newt. She was asleep and not making a sound. Ripley stroked her daughters hair, feeling the warmth radiating from her little body. "Night, night, my Baby", she whispered. Ripley pecked her cheek and quietly left the room. Newt didn't stir. The phone buzzed for attention. "Oh, you would have to ring NOW, wouldn't you? Damn it." Hello, when she angrily hit the answer stud Bishop and a woman she hadn't met stared back. It looked like they were in an office somewhere. "Hello, Bishop... whats new? I thought you would've been reassigned?" "No, it's a long story. Tell you about it another time. Right now I'm in the ICC Company presidents office." "What?", she said, eyes wide. "Miss Ripley, I'm Vanessa, the presidents secretary", she introduced herself. "Your friend contacted me about some matters of interest to you. They concern me too, now. I've got some information for you, we think you deserve it." "Go ahead", Ripley answered as she pulled up a seat. "Does this look familiar to you?", Vanessa asked. She played part of a recording from the Bioweapons division. It was a fuzzy view from an in-helmet camera. Two people were visible in front, climbing a rocky slope towards an odd proturbance towering above them. Screaming wind caught by the microphone made hearing their words difficult. "... how long do you think this things been here, Dallas?" a female voice suddenly emerged from the chaos. "God knows Lambert, it gives me the creeps just looking at it. How tall do you think its builders were?" "Look at the opening there. If that was a convenient size for them, I'd say, three meters, easy." "Who knows what they were thinking of when they built it. Why leave it open like that, though?" "Maybe someone was in a big hurry to leave?..." She'd seen enough. Dallas, Lambert, Kane.. they'd gone inside the Alien spaceship. But where did this recording come from? "Was that on the lifeboat?" "Yes. That, and everything your science officer, Ashley, learned about the Alien you picked up. He stored it in your flight recorder in case he failed in his assignment. The inspection team which went over your lifeboat removed all evidence pertaining to the Alien. Robert ordered it personally." "Robert?" "Robert Lionel VanLeuwen, the Company president." Wasn't that name fam... "No, it's not a coincidence, they're related." Vanessa beat her to it. No surprises there. Another Van Leuwen had presided over her inquiry and the later Court martial. "But, going through the records, I found something else you might find interesting. Normally when a vessel fails to report in on schedule, the next to follow the same course is notified to keep an eye out. That happened in your case, but the Nostromo was ordered off its normal flight path to intercept the alien vessels signal which you otherwise wouldn't have passed near enough to detect. Naturally, you weren't found. Of course, the Nostromos actual path was plotted well in advance. A request for a follow-up on your disappearance was denied; they decided that anything which could cause your ships disappearance was too risky to investigate further, and the matter was classified." "You mean...", Ripley began to comprehend. "If they'd looked, they would've spotted your lifeboat." If Ripley had a second chance at Robert at that moment, she'd kill him with her bare hands. It wasn't an accident that she'd been left out there. An inhuman corporate decision took her friends, family... and Amy, away from her forever. "Was Acheron chosen for colonization in the hope they would find the ship?" "No, the planners didn't have access to that information." A touch of a key filled the screen with Zeta 2 Reticuli's data. "The system was colonized partly because its sun is almost identical to ours. Conceivably, it even formed in the same gas cloud. Plus, Acheron is almost completely mineable. It was purely an economic decision." "How did Carter Burke come into it?" "He was a minor company executive assigned to your case, and he was ordered to send the message to the Colony. I doubt he looked far enough ahead to see his name was on all the documents. Mr Burke was the ICC corporations drop man in case something went wrong." "Couldn't the colony have detected the signal? We did." "Simple economy. They didn't need the equipment required, so they didn't get it." "Who did in the first place?" "An automated drone probe. There are hundreds out there, collecting data on systems ten times further out than we've ever travelled. Amongst their functions is a wide-band search for intelligent signals. One recorded the Ships beacon for analysis on Earth. Whoever set up the signal deliberately chose a noisy frequency. If they'd wanted it to be heard over a long distance they would've chosen something like the twenty-one centimeter Hydrogen frequency. They probably assumed anyone sophisticated enough to get there in the first place could receive it, so they aimed for short range reception only." "Ash said they'd translated it. What did it say?" "It was easy to decipher. The originators knew a message in their language would likely be untranslatable by anyone else, so they settled for diagrams. They show the Alien life-cycle in full, and make it very clear how dangerous it was. A rough schematic of their spaceship was included to stop curiosity along those lines, plus something else." "Go on." "A series of star charts showing the location of the planet they picked up the Alien from. The good news is that the ship was there so long that the stars have moved to the extent they can't be followed." "Thank goodness for that." "The bad news is that from the spatial density on the maps they know the planet must be approximately two thousand light years away. That means the probes will find it anyday, if the data isn't already sitting around waiting to be studied in the right way." Ripley sat back to contemplate this. Jesus, it wasn't ever yet, not by a long shot. "Then sooner or later they'll succeed, and add that... thing to their arsenal. Just one mistake and..." "I know. Hic Jacet Terra - here lies Earth." "Then we've got to stop them!" "Don't worry, Miss Ripley - I'll take care of that for all of us", Vanessa coldly replied. Ripley signed off for the night. Sleep didn't come easy for her. If one company employee made one tiny human error with the Alien, a wave of death would sweep the Earth and the lights would go out forever. Passing ships would see the cities crumble to dust and cover the billions of dead, and all major forms of life on Earth would die with them. "Thank you for pointing things out to me, Bishop", Vanessa said. "Now, what I have to do, I want to do alone." Bishop nodded and started to leave. "Remember me, won't you?" she said just before the door closed behind him. When he was out of the office, Vanessa turned her attention back to the keyboard and brought up a series of files and recordings. The translated signal from the Alien spaceship. Special order 937 from the Bioweapons division to science officer Ashley on board the Nostromo. The confidential report on the Nostromo's disappearance. The Company President's order to remove all evidence from the Lifeboat. Ash's data on the Alien. The memos to and from Carter Burke. The reports from Acheron before the transmissions of that poor colony stopped. The two Court-martial and inquiry reports. The Sulaco records. The memos about the Hyperdine corp. ENTER RECIPIENT(S), the computer asked. Her list began: United press, Reuters, Independent press assn... Within minutes the media were bombarding the office with questions, and the Company presidents suite was besieged. His faithful executives, discreetly dressed in casual and maintenance personnel attire, filled the first available downgoing shuttle. Vanessa was barely keeping up with the requests for more information, when Robert burst into the office, howling like a Banshee. His face was beetroot red from the effort of fighting his way through the media people, and twisted in rage. She pressed the 'transmit' key to send her final reply to the media, before turning to face him. "VANESSA!" he screamed. "WHAT HAVE.... YOU... DONE!!" "You broke every moral and ethical law, and you knew I couldn't sit by and watch if I knew the whole picture. Sorry to welcome you to the real world, Mr President. It's not everyday your perfect employee lets you down like this." He gagged, then his expression turned black. The punch connected on her jaw and sent her spinning across the room. There were no tears, only a wistful look on her face. Vanessa's programming prevented her from taking action when he pulled his knife out of the drawer. ---------- : The end : ----------