Black hole hurtling for earth, death imminent, etc.
You try and pair up seven billion odd people into space ships, there's going to be some mismatches. Operation Spore might seem like a terrible idea, but it was the best hope humanity had for survival. The idea being that survivors would meet other ships in time.
Prosper across the galaxy.
Only I felt awful for Lizzie as soon as I saw her. She was pretty and I don't think I'm the most awful looking guy in the world either. It wasn't that. But she was almost six inches taller at 6' 3" and the look on her face was one of pure disgust. I looked up at her nostrils, the curt shape of her lower jaw. The small, proud, aristocratic nose. And the disdainful eyes.
How could ISA fuck up so bad?
ISA, the Intelligent Social Automaton was supposed to assign us to our partners based on a complex pairing of psychological, physical and above all genetic factors that would ensure the healthiest possible offspring and ensure proper attraction. No one would see their partner, as with a giant black hole coming towards our solar system, no one had time for squabbles and taking it slow.
So before we'd even seen each other, we'd launched millions of miles away from the Earth.
Lizzie could not hide her disappointment.
If you're asking, she wasn't exactly my type either. Not that she wasn't pretty, but she was far too proud and didn't seem intent on doing her part. From day one I would find myself doing maintenance checks and tending the greenhouse while she sat reading a book at the ship's controls.
"If we need to change course, I'll be ready," she said.
By dinner time on the second Earth day, she could no longer hide her frustration.
"Look," I tried to explain. "Perhaps ISA wanted to keep things even."
Lizzie screwed up her pretty face. "How do you mean?"
"Well, the relations I mean. Perhaps ISA didn't want things degenerating to ancient times. Your physical height keeps us on a more even keel."
Lizzie kept frowning but seemed to consider this as we ate our food. ISA's imprints of coding had been given to every Spore Ship and worked the appliances to cook and ration our food out to us as two meal times every day. It also worked the artificial gravity. It was bound for the first home planet it could find, where if we were successful, we would hopefully meet other spores.
The food tasted good somehow, up there in space when there were fewer pleasures.
Today ISA had assigned us a dish resembling casserole and a small muffin as desert. We polished off our casseroles largely in silence and Lizzie had finished her muffin as I was about to start mine.
It was then she leaned two fingers over the table and took a pinch of mine. I looked up at her, a little bemused.
"Do you mind?" she asked. "I'm just so peckish today."
And then she smiled for the first time since we'd boarded.
"And I am bigger than you."
I laughed a little awkwardly with her. I knew she meant it as her needing more food, but with her fingers presumptuously in my food it had a touch of the school bully about it.
But mostly I was just happy to see her smile. Even over two days she had been looking more and more pretty and I was despairing over her anger. It was a relief to see some good will there.
"Sure, take a pinch," I smiled.
With two fingers Lizzie dug out a hunk of muffin. I watched as she pushed the muffin past her sweet pink lips and pushed her two fingers a little down her throat.
My jaw dropped a little in surprise.
"Mmmmm" she smiled again.
I smiled. We were surely going to sleep together tonight. Last night I had slept by the ship's controls and it had not been comfortable.
Lizzie reached over again and this time took a handful of the muffin. Which was about all of it.
"Hey!" I protested.
She never took her eyes off me as she finished it.
When she was done, she got up and walked off to the control room. I watched her ass leaving, tight against the haz suit.
I was left with the dishes.
After dinner I came into the control room to find Lizzie laying out a pink carpet over the floor, covering the bare grey one.
"What are you up to?" I asked, trying to build on the niceties of dinner.
"Giving the place a woman's touch." She didn't look at me.
I scratched my face, watching her work. I liked watching her work.
"Listen," she said. "I want you to give the bathroom a scrub while I'm doing this. Mainly the toilet."
I was momentarily speechless. "The toilet?"
"Yes. I think that you were maybe standing up and peeing? We're in space, stupid. You need to sit."
"Yes." It was hard not to see her logic in this.
"Well." Now she stood up with a hand on her hip. She looked down at me. "Go on now."
I turned and went to the bathroom.
At night I came and knocked on the chamber door. The control room was now carpeted pink and we had spent the evening alone. I had watched the stars.
"Yes?" she called from the other side.
"Can I come in?"
"If you like," she replied nonchalantly from the chamber.
I pressed a button and the door slid open.
Lizzie was in a see-through night slip that cut short around her thighs. She was fussing with the strap on the bed.
After a moment, she looked up.
"Well?"
"I thought... I thought maybe we might sleep there together." I tried.
Lizzie watched me and let me sweat for a moment. "Did you?" she said finally. "And why did you think that?"
"Well..." I spread my hands almost apologetically. "I thought that we should probably give it a try if we're stuck together. For the good of the human race and all."
Lizzie stared at me for a little but I couldn't quite meet her eye.
"Fine," she said finally. "Come in."
The chamber door slid shut behind me.
"But don't think," warned Lizzie, "that this makes you 'the man.'"
She came up to me and looking down, she actually put a hand on my shoulder. I was both intimidated and awed, with her full body shimmering under the night slip.
"Don't start thinking this makes you in charge, okay?" She actually sounded like a teacher talking to a naughty little pupil. "You go back to doing what I tell you. I'm Captain, okay? You'll call me Captain, won't you?"
I looked up at her. The laughing yet stern blue eyes.
"Yes," I said.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, Captain." I said, meekly.
Lizzie smiled a little and tilted her head to one side. She took her hand off my shoulder and put it to one hip which she also tilted.
"Okay, now strip," she commanded.
I unzipped my haz-suit before her and stood naked. Aware of my skininess but pleased with my erection.
She studied me like a specimen.
"Skinny," she mused. "Very skinny..."
She took the base of my cock in a soft hand and jerked it with sure, firm strokes while looking into my eyes. I reached out my hands for her hips but instead my face hit the open palm of her other hand. She spread her fingers on my face, holding me at arm's length like a child
"Uuumph!" I uttered a sound both of pleasure and protest over my humiliation.
"What?" she demanded.