Adrift Among The Stars — Part One
Seduction of Hyperspace
Ka’rail examined the display board. The starship was operating normally. The Astrogator had programmed the flight parameters into the ship’s Brain and left the Control Room. The Brain would control everything on their journey to the Ta’rus colony.
Ka’rail was not an Astrogator, or even a Pilot; he was a Watcher. He watched the displays to ensure the ship was operating normally. There was very little the pitifully slow human reactions could do to impact the operation of a starship, but his position was sufficiently important to impress the passengers. He tapped an icon and the door slid open.
“You can come in now,” Ka’rail said to El’ban. She was one of the passengers.
She entered and the door closed behind her. Instantly, he inhaled her scent. She carried the fresh fragrance of one from the planet’s surface. No amount of showering in the starship’s recycled, sanitized water could remove the stale odor of a spaceman. He hoped she would not be offended by his stench.
Ka’rail tapped the icon to lock the door. “Here it is. This is the Control Room.”
“I will be able to see the hyperspace jump?” El’ban asked.
“Absolutely. It will be simply marvelous.” Ka’rail studied her as a spider might examine a delicate fly which had not yet realized it was trapped in a web.
“Where is everyone?”
“The Captain and all the action is in the Engineering Room with the hyperspace generators. We won’t be disturbed here.” He dimmed the lights. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the brilliance of the stars shone through the dome.
“Goodness, I never imagined there would be so so many stars.”
“This large, sweeping collection is the center of the galaxy.” He indicated the dense star formation on the right. “We are located near the galactic edge.”
“Which one is the Ta’rus colony?”
“The mining colony is not a single star. It is a scattered collection of outposts in the Ta’rus Nebula. It’s that fuzzy spot right in the center of the dome. It looks like a smudge on the glass, but it is actually a dusty cloud of debris left over from a star’s supernova explosion.”
“That’s where the uranium comes from?”
“Yes.”
Space travel was expensive and there were few things with sufficient value to justify the expense of transporting them through interstellar space. Uranium was at the top of the list. The needs of the miners also made women a valuable commodity. El’ban was a mail-order bride destined for a wealthy miner at the Ta’rus colony. Each of the women aboard was being traded for 25 pounds of pure uranium. This made the starship’s cargo extremely valuable. As the ship was making the trip anyway, it also carried a variety of supplies for the miners which would normally not be of sufficient value to justify a trip through interstellar space.
El’ban studied the nebula for a moment. “How far away is it?”
“About a hundred light-years. It will take us six weeks to get there.” Ka’rail let her enjoy the view for a moment longer, and then he added, “The hyper-jump will be in a short while. We just have time for…”
She turned her eyes to meet his. “For what?”
“For what you promised me.”
“And what was that?”
“For you to take your clothes off.”
She shook her head; the curls of her strawberry hair swished across her chin. “I made no such promise.” She spoke with a defensive tone, but her eyes casually drifted down along his fit torso.
“You said, and I quote, ‘I will do anything to see the jump.’ This is part of anything.”
She frowned, but her finger touched the spot on her collar where the two halves of her jumpsuit joined together. “I have to take my clothes off before you will allow me to see the hyperspace jump?”
“Yes, it is a spectacular view. A once in a lifetime experience.” Ka’rail might have been speaking of the jump, or perhaps he was speaking of the opportunity to see her naked body. He had minimal experience with flesh and blood women; however, Ka’rail knew the company diligently screened the brides, and he was certain physical beauty had been an important criterion.
“Hump,” she grunted. “That’s all? Just take my clothes off?”
“No, not all. You best hurry as there is not much time for us to do more of what I consider to be… anything.” Ka’rail desperately wanted her. He was suffering from what could be called blue-balls. It had been a long time since he had coupled with a real woman. Space travel was a man’s universe. There were women at the space dock, but they were very expensive. A variety of animatrons existed, with varying shades of reality and cost, but these could not compare with flesh and blood.
“If time is short, why don’t we wait until after the jump?”
“Sorry, I can’t trust you.”
She was traveling as a penal colonist. Ka’rail had no idea what her crime had been, but the company didn’t send women to the mining colonies for things as simple as cheating at cards. They didn’t send murderers either; however, it was certain that she was a swindler.
Ka’rail said, “It’s now, or get out.”
El’ban smiled. She pulled her finger down, opening the previously invisible seam of her jumpsuit.
Ten minutes later, she was lying on her back on the astorgation table with Ka’rail hovering over her. Ignoring his efforts, she was staring straight up through the dome as the dazzling light-show began. The color of each of the billion visible stars shifted along the rainbow as the waves in the space-time fabric rolled by. When the frequency of the waves increased, the patterns swirled. The lights moved to create multicolored kaleidoscope of shooting stars.
“Wow!” El’ban exclaimed.
A minute later, the colors all merged together to create the endless blackness of hyperspace.
Ka’rail backed away and resealed his jumpsuit.
El’ban turned to hold his gaze. “That was amazing.” She smiled. “I can truly say, you are the first man to make me see fireworks.” She giggled and re-sorted her own clothes. Ka’rail smiled, accepting the complement; although, he knew she was not referencing his performance. She added, “You promise not to tell anyone about this?”
“Of course, and you won’t tell anyone either, eh?”
Such an indiscretion would be a social faux pas for her. Perhaps her future husband would extract some punishment for the violation of their agreement. But, if anyone learned of Ka’rail’s illicit use of the Control Room, it would cost him his job.
She shook her head. “This is a one-time thing, you know.” She approached the door, but it didn’t open. “We won’t be doing this again.”
“Of course.” Ka’rail touched the icon to unlock the door, and it opened. It was a long trip to the Ta’rus colony and he imagined she would need a favor somewhere along the way. He hoped she would return to him, a known quantity, before seeking help from anyone else.
THE END of Part One
Part Two, Disaster in Hyperspace
***
Copyright ©2023 by S. M. Revolinski All Rights Reserved
Thank you for reading my story, I hope you enjoyed it. Check my profile for more stories for you to enjoy. I have more stories and books published on Amazon and other ebook retailers for your reading pleasure.
