Orion Company
By Mr. J.
Chapter II: And Then There Were Five
The trio sits around the faded circular table eyeing each other warily, wondering who would make the first move. Bags droop under heavy eyes. A few stifle yawns, pretending that the sleeplessness doesn’t affect them. Yet none ventures to say a word. Except for the bolted down table and a tiny bookshelf filled with biographies of aces and technical manuals, the conference room is as spartan as such a place gets. Recirculated air wafts throughout the recoverted office as the ship hums.
Yet still the Orion crew do not open their mouths.
“I—” Anna ventures to open her mouth before closing it abruptly.
Her team mates do not respond.
An ominous silence hangs over them. The women fidget nervously with their pens and try to act professional. They could be forgiven for being speechless. With the status quo shattered and the fate of the newest addition to the crew in their hands, suggesting where to go from here is far from easy. Not when nobody has a road map. How would they navigate?
“What did the captain say—” Anna’s voice wavers.
“Haven’t spoken to her.” Nikki glares at her. “Asleep.”
“Is she okay?”
“The captain’s fine.”
“I mean the girl.”
“She’s moaning in her sleep but otherwise she’s okay.”
Anna cradles her chin.
“We need to do something—”
“I say throw her out the airlock.” Ms. Wray growls. “While you’re at it, desk jockey, why don’t you fetch us some coffee. I’m dying in here!”
“Caitlin!”
“You’d kill an innocent person?” Anna glances at the ship’s engineer.
“Innocent or not, she’s a liability. She probably contracted a disease from handling a monkey or something. The longer we keep her here the greater our risk of infection.”
“She’s got a point.” Nikki places her hands on the table. “It’s not like we have the space...”
Anna stares straight ahead.
For over four years, the dinged ship known affectionately as the Orion has been the only home she’s ever known outside libraries and farm houses. Bought for a song by Lianna after her fateful discharge from the Confederate Space Force, the requisitioned support vessel is the captain’s sole investment. It’s also the only means of support the crew enjoys. Small as it may be, it’s been their life on and off for years—adding a fifth person could upset the balance they already have—and suck up more oxygen to boot.
For as long as she can remember, Anna has had a front row seat for many of their battles, decoding ancient texts and generally making sure not to get shot or captured as packages were delivered and VIPs protected. Now the biggest fight any of them face is whether or not to kill a young woman because she’s taking up space—and it’s threatening to tear the crew apart.
The thought disgusts her.
“Let’s wait until the captain wakes up.” She throws her two cents in.
“No, let’s do it now!”
“It’s her vessel.” Anna demurrs. “She should have the last word.”
“I say kill the bitch now while there’s still time.”
“Caitlin...”
“SHUT UP!” Nikki screams. “BOTH OF YOU!”
The room grows scarily quiet.
“It’s been twenty four hours since the ship docked.” She takes a deep breath. “The fact is we don’t know much more than we did yesterday. I hate to admit it, but Anna’s right. That girl knows something we don’t. We kill her we got nothing.”
“What if it’s not our mystery to solve?”
“This is more than about us,” Anna glances at Caitlin. “like the captain—er, Lianna said this could be a pandemic. We need to find out what happened and determined if other ships are at risk.”
“Very well,” Nikki sighs. “if you insist It’s 0500 now...she’ll be waking up in ten minutes. I suggest you use that time wisely.”
###
Anna watches as the brunnette tosses and turns on a bed of burlap and linen in a storage room below deck, mumbling incoherently. The sentences are a patchwork of nonsense, each word more nonsensical than the last. There is a sense of urgency in the woman’s voice that frightens her, yet Anna finds the girl strangly alluring in a clinical sense, like watching an unstable subject behind a wall of synthetic glass.
“Misty...if you can hear me...Don’t give in to the voices in your head...” The girl mutters to herself. “Misty...please don’t go over to them...Misty, please...NO!”
She bolts up in a sweat, shocked by the sight of Anna towering over her, holding a glass of water in her hand.
“Who are you?” The brunnette demands. “Why am I here?”
“Shhh.” Anna presses the straw against her lip. “Drink.”
Cool water splashes the back of her throat as the girl sucks on the plastic tube. Her hair swaying as the breeze from a nearby fan blows on her face. She presses her back against the wall and glances at the boxes of food and supplies around her. Crates of laser rifles and lunar grenades sit in plain view.
“Are you military? Slavers? I am I being arrested?” The girl shifts around uncomfortably.
“No, we’re not military...” Anna smiles. “and we’re not slavers.”
“What’s going on?”
“We rescued you from a ship drifting in the Delta quadrant. We think you were attacked by a third party. We’re trying to determine the exact cause right now.”
“Where are my clothes?”
“Long story.” Anna throws a blanket over the woman. “You need to get cleaned up. There’s a shower above deck. After me.”
The young woman’s eyes dart around as Anna leads her through the ship. Her body reeks. Yet Anna doesn’t seem to take notice. They walk down a corridor towards a series of doors. While her charge looks on Anna points out the row of crew quarters and storage spaces housing a multitude of generators, drives and dual use materials just this side of legal. They finally come to a stop at one of the gunmetal doors, inspiring a mixture of fear and awe.
It hisses open, revealing a open shower stall, a small shower head hanging prominently overhead. To the untrained eye, it is a normal walk-in shower. Yet the young woman in Anna’s care sees something more disturbing. The nozzle gleams sinisterly as her legs buckle, the voice inside her head urging her to give in and obey
“Are you okay?” Anna catches her. “Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine.” The brunnette brushes her off. “All that running around must’ve made me dead
tired.”
“The clothes are over there.” Anna points at the grey sweats and halter top resting on the counter. “It shouldn’t take more than a minute or two tops. Holler if you need me.”
“I didn’t catch your name.”
Anna glances over her shoulder.
“You can call me Anna.”
“Vanessa...” The brunnette looks down. “Vanessa Graysmith.”
“Nice to meet you Vanessa.”
A burst of cool air assaults her body as Vanessa steps into the shower. She reluctantly grabs the shower head, but to her great suprise the only thing that shoots out is a pinkish foam that coats her arms and legs. She stares at it as it quickly disintegrates, trying to make sense of what she sees. Steam escapes into the vents above as she continues to stare, expecting jets of water to gently caress her body. Chalking it up to one of the ship’s many quirks she lathers herself, producing a faint fragrance reminiscent of vanilla. She could get used to the smell, she muses, if only she could get used to the sight of pink foam instead of water.
The reptillian voice returns, sensual and tempting.
«Do it, Vanessa...» It taunts her. «Give in to me.»
No, She protests. I am not one of your slaves...
«Don’t be shy. It’s only the two of us...»
I am free now! Vanessa’s lip trembles. I am not one of your playthings anymore. In the name of Jove, leave me alone!
«You say you want to be left alone.» The voice lingers. «But you secretly yearn for my instruction. Give yourself to me, child. Let me show your the path of obedience...»
Vanessa collapses as hands slowly travel over her breasts and stomach, lathering her body in circular fashion. She moans softly as she massages her thighs, flashing back to the encounter with the gilled reptiles a few days earlier. Her pleading cries reverberate against the walls, but no one answers.
“Ohhh my Jovvvvee...” She teases her womanhood. “Please. Don’t. Stop...”
A gooey feeling washes over her as she flashes back to her encounter with the beings days earlier. The sense of awe as her girl friends lined up single file. Her own latent desire to shed her clothes and join them. The emotions intensify as she flicks her clit, moaning and wondering—OH! Why can’t she relive it again?
A noise shocks her back into reality. She groans and stumbles toward the counter and quickly climbs into the clothes Anna laid out, rubbing the flecks of foam on her skin. She checks her tangled hair in the mirror.
“Are you alright?” The door hisses open.
“Anna.” Vanessa takes a deep breath.
“I heard you in the bathroom. Anything wrong?”
“No.” Vanessa shakes her head. “Disoriented, I guess.”
“Oh.”
Vanessa sniffs her hand.
“Is it normal for you people to smell like this?”
“Like what?”
“This vanilla aroma,” Vanessa motions her over. “I don’t never remember having anything like this on my ship.”
“Oh that? Just something we did to make the bathroom more enjoyable. It’s mostly recycled soap from biomass and organic compounds. What do you think of it?”
“I’ve seen worse.” Vanessa shrugs.
“Let’s get you settled in...” Anna escorts her out of the corridor.
As the two women stride through the hall, Vanessa is struck by Anna’s friendliness. At most she expected to be treated as a stowaway—or much worse. Vanessa can only wonder if the rest of the crew are this charitable. Bleary eyed, she lets out a tired sigh as the door to Anna’s room hisses open anti-climatically.
“Welcome to my quarters.” Anna shows off her digs. “This is where you’ll be for the duration.”
“I can’t...” Vanessa is breathless. “What I mean to say is...”
“Sure you can.” Anna peels off her blouse. “It’s much better than that hot room downstairs.”
“I’m not sure I want to do this...”
“Don’t be silly.” Anna waves her hand dismissively. “Mi casa es su casa.”
“What?”
“It’s an old Earth phrase.”
“I appreciate your charity, but I am afraid I have to decline.”
“I consider it an honor to have you in my home. There’s a pallet on the floor. I imagine you’re tired, so you’ll want to get some rest. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team tomorrow. Sleep tight.”
Vanessa pulls the covers over her head and lays her head down. As Anna dims the lights, she wonders what the future holds. She drifts off to sleep, dreaming of nothingness.