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“Well, well, well…Lieutenant Veronica Vale. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

The speaker of those words was Lieutenant Commander Dr. Philip Zimmer, Chief Scientific Officer of the Fordham .

He was fifty-four-years-old, of average height, and was beginning to lose his hair at the crown of his head. He had kind eyes—at least Veronica had always thought so—and a very patient manner.

Despite him being such a senior officer, Veronica had managed to befriend him—to the extent that a lowly could befriend a member of the captain’s cabinet—by making herself a frequent presence in the Science Section on Deck 14.

The way Veronica considered it, everything about exploring space centered around science, and it was a good bridge officer’s duty to be as informed as possible about anything in that discipline—the known as well as the unknown. She knew that Captain Yarrum held an advanced degree in cosmology, as well as another degree in planetary geology. Commander Voss held advanced degrees in astrophysics and exobotany.

Those degrees weren’t necessary to command a starship, of course, but if the intense study of such subjects was good enough for Captain Yarrum and Commander Voss—her two heroes—Veronica wanted to be sure not to ignore the importance of science as she pursued her own ambitions.

To that end, she had spent a lot of time in the Science Section, forming working relationships with several of the staff—particularly the Science lowlies—and generally absorbing as much information as possible about the work they did and the discoveries the Fordham had made.

Dr. Zimmer had noticed her interest, and even he had proved willing to aid her endeavors, telling her that he was glad to encounter a bridge officer candidate who recognized that knowledge of science was just as important as the knowledge of military tactics in the command of a starship.

Just now, Veronica had encountered Dr. Zimmer outside one of the Fordham’s sealed off ISAC labs—built for the isolation, study, and containment of potentially harmful materials or organisms. He and a number of his staff were looking through a wall-sized window at one of the dead creatures brought back from the alien space station.

No one was allowed into the ISAC lab beyond the window. Currently, scanning equipment was moving over the carcass, which was on a platform in the center of the lab. Veronica knew that Meg was examining the remains at a subatomic level. She also knew that Meg would perform the initial autopsy on the creature, with every detail being captured by every type of imaging tool available.

Only after Meg determined that there was no risk to the Fordham and her crew would the various beings which formed the Science complement be allowed in the same room as the animal, for a hands-on study of it.

Veronica had come down here immediately after her shift on the bridge had ended.

She tilted her head towards the window.

“Have you found out anything interesting about it so far, sir?” she asked.

“Quite a bit, actually,” Dr. Zimmer replied. “Fascinating creature. Clearly bioengineered.”

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up.

“Really, sir?”

“Mm-hm,” Dr. Zimmer hummed. “If I had to hazard a guess—and mind you, this is pure speculation—I would say this was a weaponized animal. I would further say that our poor friends on the space station had intended to use this on somebody, but that their creations had broken loose.”

Veronica shook her head slowly. Such tactics had been employed by various species in the Milky Way as well. It had even been done on Earth, during the Venezuelan-Ecuadorean Mining Wars of 2802.

She wondered if the Fordham had traveled all these lightyears to another galaxy only to find the same stupidity here as back home. And then she answered her own question…

Wherever there was intelligent life, there was the ignorance that went along with it.

“This bit is particularly interesting,” Dr. Zimmer went on. “According to what Meg has discovered so far, this creature has the ability to go completely cold, almost at will. That was why they had been able to hide from our sensors until they started attacking that squad of Marines.”

And Jane , Veronica thought to herself.

That had been a completely new experience for her—yet a valuable one.

She had never been in the position before of being on duty on the bridge while a woman she was involved with—her girlfriend—was on an away mission and in mortal danger.

It had taken all of her training, and all of her concentration, to be able to focus on her duties while seeing what was happening on the space station, thanks to the main viewscreen showing the feeds from all the helmetcams.

That had never happened before. All of the women she had been involved with up until that point—to whatever degree she had been involved with them—did not hold positions on this starship that ever put them in harm’s way.

During the events on the space station, Veronica had wanted to do so many things to help Jane!

She wanted to mutiny, take control of the Fordham , and use it to rescue her girlfriend.

She wanted to be on the space station with Jane, with a blaster in her hand, keeping those creatures from so much as causing Jane to stub a toe.

She wanted to find the species that had built the space station, and then shout at them, asking them, quite simply, What the fuck?

However…

After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she had corralled her emotions and been able to focus on the things she could do at that time. Because that was all she had been able to control.

And she had told herself that if she wanted to continue having a life exploring space, and if she wanted to continue having romances with women while exploring space, she would need to be able hold herself together at times like those.

Jane was a starfighter pilot. Danger was part of her job description.

If she and Jane didn’t last, well…

If she started dating a…geologist, that geologist would be in danger surveying an uncharted planet.

If she started dating a…medical doctor, that doctor would be in danger if she was sent to tend to wounded soldiers on a battlefield.

The list could go on and on.

About the safest job a potential girlfriend could have on the Fordham was as a Level IV Environment Aesthetician. Those were civilian Unitary employees whose job it was to wander the starship and make sure the vessel looked pleasing in all aspects. If paint was peeling in one corner of a conference room, they fixed it. If any of the living plants were wilting, they spruced them up. If a brass fixture was tarnished, they polished it.

What they didn’t do was go on away missions or fight enemy vessels.

“How’s your friend? Lieutenant Belivet?” Dr. Zimmer suddenly asked.

Veronica started and stared at Dr. Zimmer with wide eyes.

Did he know about her relationship with Jane? And if he knew, who else among the senior officers knew?

Regulations-wise, there was nothing prohibiting the relationship, but she was curious just how far up the chain of command knowledge of it went.

However, Dr. Zimmer chuckled, reached out his hand, and placed it gently on her arm for a moment.

“Relax, Lieutenant,” he said. “I know nothing. It’s just that my wife and I have seen you and Belivet together at Cosmic Melons. We go there sometimes. As far as I know, you and the lieutenant are just good friends.”

“We’ve been seeing each other!” Veronica blurted out, feeling the need to.

Might as well get it out there to someone who’s not a lowly…

Dr. Zimmer smiled.

“I think that’s wonderful,” he said. “I don’t know Belivet personally, but I know she has a fine reputation as a pilot, and she seems to have acquitted herself admirably on that space station.” His brow furrowed. “I seem to also recall hearing something about a moose…?”

“Ah,” Veronica said. “Well…I haven’t been told about the moose incident, sir. At least not yet. Anyway, I heard that Jane…that is, Lieutenant Belivet…is doing fine after going through decon. I’ll be heading to see her after this.”

“Well,” Dr. Zimmer began, “tell her I hope she’s on her feet soon.” He paused. “She’s had quite the couple of weeks, hasn’t she? First that contact with the unknown alien vessel, and then contact with our little friend in there.” He tilted his head toward the window.

Veronica nodded.

“The exciting life of a starfighter pilot, sir,” she replied.

***

Twenty minutes later, after spending some more time in the Science Section watching Meg examine the hell-creature that had been brought from the space station, Veronica was on Deck 5 approaching Jane’s quarters.

She wanted to groan out loud when she saw two Sabre Squadron pilots in the passageway, chatting in the doorway of the quarters opposite Jane’s.

Do these fucking pilots ever stay indoors?

She had yet to walk down this passageway without encountering any of Jane’s mates. It was almost as if they always knew when she was coming.

This time it was Sniper and Knock Out.

Well, she had yet to be teased by either of those two, so she figured this should be a refreshing change.

Seeing her, Sniper smirked and stepped away from her chat with Knock Out. She took two strides on her long legs and pressed the Announce button for Jane’s quarters.

“Hey, Rascal!” she said into the call box. “The bite-sized captain is here to see you! She’s in full uniform too…you’d better smarten up!”

When Veronica reached the door, she said, “Thank you, ma’am, for announcing me.”

“Not a problem, Your Highness,” Sniper replied.

Veronica supposed that was a dig at her British accent.

“She’ll be glad to see you,” Sniper went on, without any hint of sarcasm or teasing. “Decon sucks! Have you ever been through it?”

“I haven’t, ma’am,” Veronica answered. She had never visited an unknown world in the Milky Way, and had been inoculated against the various pathogens harmful to humans from the known planetary systems.

Sniper shrugged.

“It just wears you out, is all,” she said. She then smirked again. “Consider yourself lucky. You won’t have to put up with how annoying she can be.”

Veronica put a pondering look on her face.

“So…maybe I ought to ensure she gets decon treatments more often?” she quipped.

Sniper laughed.

“Well, you will be the captain one day,” she said. “Anyway, enjoy your visit.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Veronica said as Sniper crossed the passage to rejoin Knock Out.

“Good to see you again, Lieutenant Vale,” a new voice said from the Announce module next to Jane’s door. Veronica recognized it as Jane’s AI. “You may enter when ready. You’ll find Jane in her bedroom.”

“Thank you,” Veronica said. “I’m ready.”

The door slid open.

“Sorry I couldn’t greet you properly!” Jane’s voice called out. “But I can barely move!”

Veronica headed to the bedroom. She discovered Jane reclining on the bed, atop the sheets, dressed in running shorts and a tank top. Her back was propped up against the bulkhead with pillows.

“A sight for sore eyes!” Jane said with a smile.

Jane was trying to hide it, but Veronica could detect the lethargy in her voice.

“How are you feeling?” Veronica asked, standing at the foot of the bed.

The decontamination process involved undergoing a polonium sweep, in order to kill any foreign organisms on a person; and then a deradiation sweep in order to rid the person’s body of all of that polonium so they wouldn’t die. It was an effective process. The only side effect was that it made the recipient very tired, and pretty much unable to do nothing more physically taxing than blinking for several hours.

“I feel exhausted! ” Jane managed to say with some emphasis. “But oddly enough, I also feel incredibly horny.”

Veronica crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg, looking at her girlfriend sternly.

“You need rest, not sex,” she stated.

“You know, every time you cross your arms, it just highlights how big your boobs are,” Jane said. “Which is why I love it when you cross your arms.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. But she kept her arms crossed.

“Oh my days,” she said. “You are unbelievable!”

“You’re supposed to have pity on me, like a good girlfriend!” Jane whined. “I had a very trying day!”

Veronica didn’t show it, but every time Jane referred to her as her girlfriend, she felt a tingling thrill shoot through her heart.

She cocked an eyebrow.

“No…like a good girlfriend, I need to make sure you get the rest you need,” she said.

Jane sighed but nodded.

“I guess you’re right,” she said. “You do wear me out sexually. If we did anything now, you’d probably kill me with all your weird sexual antics.”

“Och!” Veronica barked dryly. “Weird sexual antics?”

“Can you stay?” Jane asked.

“For three hours,” Veronica said, taking a glance at the ship’s clock on the bedroom wall. “Then I have to study. Do you need me to bring you anything?”

Jane shook her head.

“Sniper brought me water and a protein ration earlier,” she said.

“Oh yes…” Veronica began, “I encountered Sniper in the passageway.”

Jane laughed.

“Was she horrible?” she asked.

Veronica shrugged.

“Well…‘bite-sized captain’ was a new one,” she said.

Jane sucked her teeth.

“Damn!” she exclaimed. “I wish I had thought of that! I could have been calling you ‘bite-sized ensign’ all this time!”

Veronica rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, after insulting my lack of height, she was rather nice.”

“Told you!” Jane exclaimed. “They’re all starting to get used to you. Anyway, forget those slags…just come lay with me, please.”

“As you wish,” Veronica responded with a smile.

“But…at least take off your uniform top first,” Jane replied. “At least give me that!”

“Jane, I swear to the goddesses…” Veronica muttered, chuckling. However, she unbuttoned her uniform’s tunic, shrugged it off, and then also removed the black undershirt, leaving her in her khaki-colored smart bra.

She got onto the mattress beside Jane, who immediately snuggled up against her.

“Now I feel much better,” Jane whispered.

Veronica smiled.

“Me too,” she said. This moment felt…perfect, really.

“So what’s happening?” Jane asked. “I mean, regarding the space station…”

Veronica gave her girlfriend the requested news update…

The Fordham was still in the vicinity of the space station, though the captain had ordered the starship to be brought to within 100,000 kilometers.

Additional Marine squads had boarded the space station and—it was believed—managed to kill all of the creatures that had attacked and eaten the beings that had built the station. This had been achieved with the help of AI-equipped combat droids, and by introducing engineered arsenic pentafluoride into the station’s air distribution system. It was a designer form of that poisonous gas which rendered itself inert after fifteen minutes.

None of the other beings—the ones who had apparently worked at the station—had been found alive, but their remains had been located throughout the structure.

Without knowing the death customs of the beings, there had been some debate about what to do with the bodies. It had eventually been decided by the Fordham’s lead anthropologist that the bodies should be left where they were, but sealed in military vacsacks—the kind used to protect and transport the remains of soldiers killed in battle. This was done so that in the event other members of the species who had built the station answered that distress call and arrived, they would find the remains of what were still being called the “scientists,” and then dispose of the bodies according to their customs.

Once the station had been deemed clear of hostile animals, specialized study teams from the Fordham had boarded it and set about trying to gather as much information about the beings who had built it, and their technology, as possible…and they were still onboard working.

They were on a timeline, however. Captain Yarrum—mindful that the distress signal might have already been received by others—wanted the work done in twelve shiphours, with the Fordham gone before anyone else arrived.

Finally, a data card was being prepared…

The card would contain the helmetcam footage from the first squad of Marines that had entered the station, which would show how the scientists had died, as well as the attacks that had been made by the weaponized animals. It would also contain a message from Captain Yarrum, explaining how the Fordham had come to be at the space station.

Naturally, there was no guarantee that the beings would be able to access the information on the data card, but considering that they had managed to develop the technology needed to construct a space station that was—as it turned out—equipped with fairly advanced neural-net computers, as well as machinery that utilized quantum-processing circuit chips, the wager on the Fordham was that eventually the beings would figure it out.

The card was not only meant to provide an explanation, but to also show that those from the Fordham who had boarded the space station had not been the cause of what had happened to the scientists.

Jane let out a breath.

“Can you imagine being one of those aliens,” she began, “and finding a message from Captain Yarrum—the most beautiful woman in the universe?”

Veronica laughed.

“Those beings might find her ugly,” she reminded her.

“Yeah, only if they’re from the planet Crazyworld,” Jane quipped. “But I see your point.”

Veronica then became aware of Jane’s finger rubbing the fabric of her bra, exactly above where her right nipple was. And in response, that nipple hardened…quickly and tightly. Naturally, Jane noticed that, so it was no surprise to Veronica when her girlfriend captured the nipple between her thumb and forefinger, and pinched it slightly.

Veronica closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. Beneath her mound, flutters began.

“What are you doing?” she asked softly.

Jane snickered.

“Forgot what this is already?” she asked in a teasing lilt. “You were just here the other night sitting on my face…”

Veronica sucked in another breath as the memory of the other night returned, and how expertly Jane had eaten her out while she sat astride her face. Then, after she had climaxed, how Jane had tightened the grip she had on her hips, keeping her where she was in order to continuing pleasuring her until she orgasmed again—a potently strong one that made her give a wailing and sustained shout.

“Bloody hell, Jane!” she said now. Jane’s fingers were pinching harder, and that, combined with the face-sitting memories, had truly ignited her core. “You need to be resting!”

Jane scoffed.

“I am one of the superior human specimens on this starship!” she stated. “A Sabre Squadron pilot! Do you think a little decon treatment can keep me grounded for long?”

Despite how turned on she was now, Veronica couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Do they train you pilots to be this arrogant?” she asked. “Or does it come naturally?”

But she decided not to wait for an answer. If the events of today had a message to impart, it was that there was no guarantee of a tomorrow. Therefore, if Jane wanted to do more than just lie here…

She sat up more fully and quickly removed her bra, her full breasts bouncing slightly as they were removed from the constraints of the garment.

She heard Jane give a purr-like hum of approval, and saw her lick her lips.

Veronica gestured with her hand.

“Lean back properly,” she instructed.

Jane complied, resuming the position she had been in when Veronica arrived—reclined against the pillows. Veronica then straddled her lap.

Instantly, Jane gently cupped the underside of Veronica’s left breast and brought her mouth down to the hard nipple, sucking into her mouth.

Biting her bottom lip, Veronica looked down and enjoyed the sight. Almost reflexively, she started grinding her pelvis against Jane’s lap. Inside her underwear, her clit was thumping, its excitement fed by the sensations emanating from the tip of her breast.

While Jane continued to lavish oral attention on that nipple, Veronica used her right hand to squeeze her other breast, pulling hard on that nipple as she did so.

After about a minute, Jane released the one she was sucking on and then sunk her teeth into the soft flesh of the breast just below it.

“Fuck!” Veronica exclaimed softly, feeling the sexy pain of the bite. Whatever remaining reservations she had about Jane’s post-decon condition evaporated.

“Sixty-nine me, babe,” Jane suddenly said when she ended the bite.

Gladly!

At least, that was Veronica’s initial thought.

Her next thought was far more…unsexy.

“I should probably go freshen up,” she warned. “I’ve been in this uniform all day…”

“Fair enough,” Jane said with a groan. “But help me off with these shorts first.”

Gladly!

And this time, the thought was only followed by Veronica wondering how quickly she could get those shorts off.

Less than seven seconds, it turned out—she counted.

She swallowed at the sight of Jane’s pussy—immaculately shaved and looking freshly scrubbed. Not a big surprise…part of the decon ritual was showering with a special cleansing solution before the polonium sweep, after all.

She knew that if she hurried, she could be in and out of Jane’s loo in about two minutes, using what was in there to freshen up her vulva to the standards of intimate contact. Two minutes…that would be all she needed.

But with a helpless groan of desire, she flattened herself on the mattress between Jane’s legs and brought her mouth to Jane’s pussy, needing to taste her, feeling as if two minutes might as well be two days.

She had three hours before her studying session…

There was plenty of time for sixty-nining…

***

The three fingers Veronica was fucking Jane with suddenly felt their movement become more constricted, and the walls of Jane’s passage begin squeezing them.

Her girlfriend was coming. Again.

They had been at it for well over an hour, by Veronica’s estimation.

She had eventually freshened herself up, and she and Jane had sixty-nined, bringing one another to glorious orgasms before moving onto other things. Although those other things were pulled from a somewhat limited repertoire…

Jane’s sexual eagerness couldn’t quite overcome the fatigue from the decon procedure, and so their sex had been limited to what they could accomplish with her lying flat on her back. Nonetheless, it had been amazingly fun, especially since circumstances practically demanded a repeat of the face-sitting episode of the other night.

Now, Jane started to shout as the orgasm took hold, but Veronica decided to kiss her through the climax, smothering the shout with her lips, and driving her tongue deep into Jane’s mouth. She also stilled her hand, with her fingers deep into Jane’s vagina, letting the soft, warm, and flooded passage constrict repeatedly on them.

When she felt the orgasm begin to wane, she broke the kiss and looked down at her girlfriend.

Jane had her eyes closed, and she was smiling. Then, her eyelids fluttered for a bit and her face went slack.

Veronica frowned.

“Jane?” she prodded. “Jane?”

But Jane’s head lolled to the side.

“Jane?” Veronica tried again. Then, understanding what had happened, she said, “Are you bloody kidding me?”

Jane was fast asleep. Apparently, whatever strength she’d had following the decon procedure had now been completely drained by their sexual activities.

Once she had gotten over the initial shock that a woman had fallen asleep on her, Veronica wanted to laugh.

“Jane?” she tried once more.

No response.

She looked down at her right hand—three fingers of which were buried to their hilts in Jane’s pussy.

“Erm…” she muttered.

Clenching her teeth because of the delicacy of the operation, she started sliding them out, until they emerged, completely coated with Jane’s essence. Surprisingly, Jane never stirred.

Veronica proceeded to get off the bed, and then headed into the bathroom. She cleaned herself up adequately in about five minutes. She could take a shower once she returned to her quarters.

Coming out of the bathroom, she looked at her girlfriend.

Jane looked dead to the world, only the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest providing any indication of life in her body. She was naked only from the waist down. Earlier, Veronica had pulled up Jane’s tank top only enough to expose her breasts. The shirt was still bunched up above them.

Veronica got back on the mattress and managed to gently pull the shirt back down. She knew Jane kept a spare blanket in a footlocker against one wall. Veronica retrieved it and covered Jane with it. She then got dressed, humming contentedly to herself.

She would have been perfectly happy if they hadn’t had sex. All she had cared about when she had arrived here earlier was that Jane had returned safely from the space station. If all they had done was cuddle together and talk, that would have been terrific.

But she certainly wasn’t going to complain about the way things had ended up. Her vagina was still thrumming with latent pleasures.

Once she was dressed and was in the living room, she tried to remember something…

What is Jane’s AI called? Holly? Hannah? Harper? Something with an H…

She could ask Rosie, of course, but that was too easy.

She decided it was Holly …

“Holly?” she said experimentally.

“Yes, Lieutenant Vale?” the AI responded from the overhead speakers

“Please record a message for Jane, for when she wakes up,” Veronica said.

“Of course,” Holly told her. “Begin when ready.”

“Hi Jane,” Veronica said. “I’ll have left by the time you wake up. I had an amazing time with you and feel rather proud of myself for having worn out such a superior human specimen. Just kidding…I know it was decon that did it. Anyway, the most important thing is that I got to spend time with you. You have no idea how happy I am that you made it back safely from that space station. I can’t wait to see you again! End message.”

“I will be sure Jane gets it once she awakens, Lieutenant,” Holly said.

“Thank you,” Veronica replied. She still got a thrill whenever she was addressed by her rank…even by an AI.

With that done, she took a peek at herself in a mirror by the door. Her blonde hair wasn’t in its usual, tightly-coiffed updo, but she looked presentable enough for being seen in her uniform between here and her quarters.

She had a lot of BOTC coursework to complete, relevant to her new rank. There was going to be a simulator exercise for her to pass the next time the Fordham wasn’t on alert status as it was now. Having a proper girlfriend didn’t mean she could rest on the (relatively few) laurels she’d attained thus far, and so as much as she wished she could hang around here in Jane’s quarters, she wanted to get back to work.

“Bye, Holly,” she said to the AI.

“Goodbye, Lieutenant Vale,” Holly replied. “I look forward to seeing you again.”