F6: the Marlborough Man in the Moon

This story is a submission to the sixth Friendly Anonymous Writing Challenge (FAWC) and a tribute to the founder of FAWC, slyc_willie, who we lost unexpectedly in October 2015. The true author of this story is kept anonymous until the end of the competition. Authors base their story on a list of four items. Their choices included the following letters: S L Y C. Each item was used in the story. There are no prizes given in this challenge; this is simply a friendly competition.

The list for this story includes: Yodeler, Yarn, Yacht, Yearn

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Cassie sighed and rolled over onto her back. Brock moved with her, over her. His muscular thigh parted her legs and pressed into her throbbing, wet hot sex. She moaned, ran her hands down his strong back, arched herself up towards him. The wash of stars visible over his shoulder boggled her mind. Living in the city, it was easy to forget how vast the universe really was. How small they were in comparison. But out here, everything was different. She was different.

Brock propped himself onto his elbow, let his large hand range down her body. His calloused thumb teased her nipple in little circles. flicked the pink nub until it was hard, until she was gasping and loose limbed, just a little wet puddle of hot desire.

The wind picked up in a sudden gust, blew sparks from their bright burning fire, sent her long curling locks over her face, obscuring her view of her handsome lover. A coyote yipped in the distance, sending the horses to stamp and blow with unease. It might be a chilly night, but Cassie wouldn't have known it. The crackling, warm campfire, the unzipped sleeping bags that protected her and Brock from the damp earth of the valley where they camped, were all pale companions to the heat she and Brock created together. She had never felt such passion for someone she hardly knew, but the moment she had met him, two short weeks ago at Uncle Ned's ranch, she had wanted him. He had rode up on his midnight horse, tipped his weather-worn cowboy hat, and called her "Ma'am". But even then, there was something in his bright blue eyes that told her much of him was not so polite.

Brock's hand left hot trails down her side, slow inch by slow agonizing inch. The wind gusted a second time, carrying bit of grit that stuck to her sweat-streaked skin. The coyote called again, and was answered by a another, closer.

"Are we safe out here, Brock?" Cassie gasped out, not really sure if she cared.

Brock's hand had replaced his thigh between her legs, and he was stroking her engorged pussy lips slowly with one long finger. "You're always safe with me, Cassie. Nothing can touch you."

"Well, not nothing, I hope." She wriggled her hips in search of his hand, but the cowboy would not be rushed. He dragged his finger slowly up her damp slit, then back down again, not penetrating, avoiding her clit, just a delicious moving pressure that drove her mad with desire.

"Please, Brock, please, you're killing me!" Cassie gasped.

He just laughed softly,in her ear and kept on with the teasing torture.

Cassie resigned herself to her fate and tried to lose herself in his slow touch. The stars again commanded her brief attention.

"The stars, God, Brock, they're so many. I could get lost just looking at them."

"It's a different view from than the universe you call home, but just as splendid, isn't it?" Brock murmured as he slow-kissed his way down her neck, his finger now working tantalizingly slow circles around her clit.

Cassie was so lost in the building wave of her impending orgasm, she almost didn't catch it.

"Mmmmm ... what now?"

"I said, Not as lost as I get looking into your eyes, Cassie." Brock pressed him warm lips to hers and she melted into his kiss. She had a moment to think, yes, that's what Brock is supposed to say before his talented fingers worked their magic on her throbbing clit, parted her to slip inside, stroked that hot button that sent her over the edge and into then blissful orgasmic abyss.

"Oh my god, Brock, oh god," she panted as every muscle tightened. Her hips thrust up against his his hand, she dug her nails into his back.

"Cassie ..."

"Brock ..." Every nerve was on fire. Every muscle singing with unbearable arousal.

"Cassie ..."

"Oh, Brock ..."

"Cassie, I need you."

"Brock, I need you inside me, all of you, every inch ..."

"Cassie! I need you! Cassie, dammit ..."

"Brock?"

"Cassie! For fuck's sake!"

Avery's voice cut across everything. The coyote yelps, the horses whinny, the crackling of the fire, the blowing wind. Brock's voice in her ear.

"Earth to Cassie. Hello."

Cassie sighed and reached out her hand for the remote. With a press of her finger, it was all gone. The Relaxation Dome's screens faded to black and Cassie was alone with the disembodied voice of Captain Avery.

"Jesus, Roz, you have terrible timing."

"Oh? Are you in the Dome again?"

"You know damn well where I am. I swear you wait until I'm in here before deciding there is some kind of emergency."

"Did I interrupt a hot session with your smoking cowboy?"

Cassie smirked at Avery's voice. She pulled on her jumpsuit and turned up the lights in the Dome.

"He's not a smoking cowboy. Not anymore. I didn't program that in."

I don't know why you programmed him at all. He's a bit ... vintage, isn't he? Riding the open plains on a horse, Carrying rope, all sweat and dirt and stubble. I don't see the appeal."

"I think he's sexy. I'm not into the androgyny scene like you are. I can just imagine how he would smell: his sweat, the dirt, the horse."

"My point exactly." Though Cassie couldn't see Roz, she could just imagine the look on her face.

"I've had enough cold, clean, plastic and metal sterilization to last me a life time. I just want to get dirty." Cassie laughed. She pressed the button to open the door and and it slid open silently. It was a short stride down the hallway to the working section of the habitat. "He's manly. He's sexy."

"I don't know where you even dreamed him up. Men don't look like that anymore. And there haven't been any cowboys in ... who knows how long. In fact, after you said the word I had to ask the computer to look it up." Now Avery was laughing at her, but she was telling the truth.

"My mother collected vintage magazine ads, from when the the mags were made out of paper. I guess cowboys smoked a lot of cigarettes."

"When the cigarettes were made out of paper," Avery joked.

"Yeah, when anything was made out of paper."

"Still, you've got quite a scenario programmed into the Dome's computer. I mean, usually when people use the Relaxation Dome for sex, they're not so ... thorough."

Cassie laughed. She sat down at the habitat's main computer and logged in.

"I have a large imagination."

"You're a scientist, you're not supposed to have an imagination." Avery had that tone in her voice. Cassie knew what was coming next, and she loved to egg her partner on.

"I'm a woman, I'm not supposed to be a scientist." She was teasing, she knew how to press Roz's buttons.

"Oh, do not get me started. Do you remember when we were chosen for this mission, and that jealous bastard Romonov wondered in his press interview how we would perform under the extreme pressure of the mission objectives when our menstrual cycles matched up?"

Cassie groaned. And that hadn't even been the worst of it. "Yeah, and when he bloody well knew we use chemical suppressors so we don't even get periods. We've been doing it for decades. Jackass."

"He couldn't stand the fact that both of us scored better in the simulations than he did. Much better. Not to mention the psych eval. Face it, women are much more suited to this kind of mission than men are. Especially when they are able to ... imaginatively configure the Relaxation Dome." Avery's voice was back to friendly teasing.

"Hold on a second, Roz. what about the psych evals? You aren't supposed to know the results of those. None of us are."

Avery put on a low sexy voice. "Well, Dr. Portman. That thing you've been pretending to do with your Cowboy —"

"— his name is Brock, thank you very much."

Avery laughed. "Brock, yes, excuse me. That thing you pretend to do with Brock, well, I've been doing that for real with Dr. Shapiro for going on four years now."

"You what? Rosalind Avery, you slut!"

"That's Captain Rosalind Avery to you, Doctor." Avery sounded smug.

"Yes, ma'am. But ma'am, even taking into account that ... conflict of interest ... you still shouldn't know about the psych eval!" Cassie was shocked and aghast. And intrigued. Dr. Shapiro was pretty hot, if you like that androgynous look.

"Ok, drop the ma'am, that's just weird. And anyway, it was just pillow talk. And he only told me far after the fact of our appointment to the mission. And it wasn't really his fault, I sort of had him in a ... compromising position."

Cassie fetched herself some water from the reclamation unit and sipped at it. One of the worst things about the habitat was the dry air. The process that kept the air breathable also took too much moisture out of it. The water went into the reclamation unit, which Cassie had to constantly drink from to keep enough moisture in her own body.

"While it's certainly nice chatting with you, Captain Avery, ma'am, I have to wonder. Is there a reason you pulled me from my ... mandatory relaxation time ... so brusquely? Was there some kind of emergency? Or are you just bored circling all the way up there while I'm having all of the fun down here." Cassie sat back down at her work station. She pulled up the stats of her various running experiments: the soil samples, the atmosphere analysis, the equipment diagnostics for the upcoming core samples she would be taking next week. Everything seemed to be running smoothly.

"Ah, yes. Well, perhaps it's not quite the emergency I made it out to be ..."

"Uh-huh. Big surprise," Cassie muttered under her breath.

"But there was a discrepancy on the outside scanners."

"The atmosphere analytics?" Cassie zoomed in on that data on one of her several screens. Double, triple checked the incoming data stream.

"No, not the atmosphere. I mean literally outside. The external cameras picked up something ... an anomaly."

"What kind of anomaly?" Cassie clicked over to the view from the external cameras. They were placed at regular intervals all along the outside of the habitat. The habitat was made up of five domes. A larger dome in the center served as her lab and work station. The four attached smaller domes were her sleeping quarters, her kitchen/eating area, the loo, and storage. She was alone on this mission, and so these domes were not big. Three of the four smaller domes were each about the size of a nice walk-in closet back on earth. Enough room for her to move around in a little, but not much more than that. The storage dome was about twice that size, and her lab, the large center dome, was about 1,000 square feet,with at least a third of that taken up by her life support and lab equipment.

"Well, if I knew what kind of anomaly it was, I wouldn't have had to call you out of your sexy time to check it out for me, would I."

"Ok, ok. I'm scrolling through the cameras now and I don't see anything. Where was it?"

"Outside of Door A, cameras 1 and 2, about 30 yards out."

Cassie peered at the live footage from cameras 1 and 2. She saw the same thing she saw every day. Orange sky, gray, brown and black rock and dirt, mountains in the distance. There was nothing else to see. She was the only living thing on exploratory planet EP-247.

"I don't see anything. What did you see?"

"More like what do I see? It's still there. Like a several areas of heat shimmer in a semi-circle array. You aren't see this?"

Cassie stared at her screens until her eyes began to water. "No, I've got nothing."

"That's odd, seeing as I'm synced in to your feed. We should be seeing the same thing. Maybe there's a glitch on my end. Just to be 100%, why don't you get actual eyes on the area."

"Sure, hang on."

Cassie pushed back from her work station and dug her binoculars out of her tool bag. The habitat's structure did not allow for much in the way of windows, and there wasn't much to look at anyway, but there was light from a distant sun that filtered in through the small porthole windows that circled the dome at regular intervals. She peered through the clear plastic material nearest Door A, what she considered the front door to her home so far away from home.

The distant sun was still high, and there was as much light as there was going to be. Cassie scanned the area around the Habitat, all the way to the horizon. There was no heat shimmer. In fact, there wouldn't be, it was cold on EP-247, generally about 50 degrees Fahrenheit mosts days. and 20 degrees cooler at night. There was literally no cloud cover in the atmosphere, nothing to trap the heat on the surface of the planet, except what was held and reflected back by the rocks and soil.

"Nope, I don't see anything out here, Roz. Check things out on your end, maybe there's a problem with your receiver, or the feed. Solar flare, maybe, I don't know."

"Copy that, Cassie. I'll let you know what I find. But you keep an eye out there for me anyway. Just in case."

"Sure thing, Cap."

"Ok, I'm checking out, Cassie. You need anything, just buzz, I'll keep my ears on."

"Copy, Roz. Cassie out."

Cassie heard the click that meant Captain Avery was no longer in direct communication with the habitat. She thought about heading back to the Relaxation Dome and resuming her rendezvous with Brock, she didn't feel like she had completely ... finished things there, but she dismissed the idea. Brock would be there waiting for her anytime. Captain Avery had her curious with this glitch in the system, so she set to work running every diagnostic she could think of. She decided she would even check the physical wiring of the mounted cameras on all of the domes. It was going to be a long night. She logged in her conversation with Captain Avery, at least the pertinent parts of it, and got started.

Hours later, she had finished running diagnostics on her diagnostics and everything was 5x5. Her eyes felt gritty from staring at her computers screens for so long and there was a crick in her back. She stumbled into her sleeping quarters and zipped herself inside, turned down all the systems in the main area of the habitat to conserve air and energy. Her quarters served as her emergency safe room in case anything happened to the rest of the Habitat, or it was breached in some way, and it had its own small life support systems, water reclamation, and enough food to keep her alive for the week it would take Captain Avery to come get her from any point in her orbit around this small planet. She checked in before she went to sleep, as protocol dictated.

Captain Avery, this is Dr. Portman signing off for the night. Come in, Captain Avery.

A moment of crackling silence on the com, and then Rosalind's voice piped in.

"Avery here. How did your systems check go? Mine all checked out."

"All clear here. Must have been some interference from the sun, or maybe errant radiation. Are you still seeing the heat shimmers on the surface of this chilly, chilly planet, Captain?"

"Watch your tone there, Doctor. I am your commanding officer."

"Apologies, ma'am." Cassie smiled and zipped herself into her sleeping cushion. Her sleep suit and her sleeping bag were designed to use the heat from her body to keep her warn at night, but it still took a few minutes to get comfortable.

"I said cut it out with the 'ma'am' crap." Avery complained. "It's too damn weird. After all we went through to get here, on earth and on ship." That last part was said with a tease her in voice.

Cassie blushed. She and Rosalind had been the only crew on a spacecraft meant for four. It was a long trip. To keep themselves occupied they had gotten ... creative.

"I'm signing off and hitting the sack. You enjoy your night ... or ... where are you in orbit? Is it day? Anyway, enjoy yourself up there on your luxurious space yacht."

"You know mission states I sleep when you sleep. I've been waiting for you to go to bed for hours. And yes, I am the Captain of the space cruiser Prodigy, Luxury yacht among the stars. Fully stocked with reclaimed water, protein bars and vitamin capsules. Only the finest for crew and rich clients of this vessel."

"Now, don't try to act like you're so deprived up there. Yo've got real food 3x a week. And heat! I've got freeze dried fruits and vegetables to go along with my vitamin capsules. And I'm freezing."

"Alright, no more bitching. Captain Avery of the luxury yacht Prodigy signing out. Good night, Cassie."

"Good night, Roz. Over and out." Cassie sent the conversation to the log and turned off her reading light. In moments, she was asleep.

She drifted, then, remembering what it was like back on the Prodigy with Roz, when they would indulge in their once a month cookie dough binge. While the freeze dried astronaut version of cookie dough paled in comparison to the real thing back home, it was sort of sweet and had actual mini chocolate chips in it. One night they had sat cross-legged, knee-to-knee, on the floor of the ship's kitchen in their sleep suits, each using her fingers to dig the powdery chunks of cookie dough out of its slivery foil package.

"Mmm ... this is so gross and so good at the same time." Roz licked the residue of the crumbly, powdery treat off her fingers. As Cassie watched, she felt a warmth bloom in her belly and spread downwards. A tingle sparked between her legs and made her squirm.

Rosalind shot her a glance and smiled mischievously. Caramel highlights in her razor short dark hair glinted in the overhead lights. They had both shaved their hair before the mission, as personal hygiene was tricky aboard a small ship like the Prodigy, and would be even harder for Cassie on the surface of EP-274. Keeping long hair clean and neat was not only a PITA, but a waste of precious water. Cassie thought the haircut only improved Roz's dark good looks, while with her own light blonde hair and light eyebrows, she just looked bald.

"Looks like you ate yours too fast, Doctor. Would you like some of mine?" The Captain held a lump of cookie dough between her fingers and held it out to Cassie.

Cassie hesitated. She and Roz had grown close over the month's long trip, and the flirtatious nature of their friendship had developed more out of boredom and loneliness than anything else. But here the line was right in front of her. Should she cross it? Rosalind was her commanding officer. If things went sour, it could get damn awkward on this ship with just the two of them.

She stared for a moment as Roz licked her dark rose lips. She measured the look in her Captain's deep brown eyes. A selfish, irresponsible little voice inside her head said, damn, wouldn't it be nice to feel someone's warm touch, instead of the cold false love in the Relaxation Room?

Ah, fuck it, Cassie thought to herself. She needed this. They were both going a little stir crazy, a little fun couldn't hurt, could it?

She leaned forward, grasped Roz's delicate wrist in her hand, and drew Roz's two fingers into her mouth. Using her tongue and lips she lathed Roz's fingers, licked the cookie dough completely. Even when there was no more trace of that sticky sweetness, she kept her mouth on Roz's fingers, sucked them deep into her mouth, darted her tongue between them. She kept her eyes on Roz's as she moved her tongue, watched as Roz's black pupils dilated.

When Cassie released her hand, Rosalind moved in to kiss her, pressed her sweet mouth to Cassie's in what started as a light kiss, but deepened almost immediately as need took over both of them. In moments Roz was practically in Cassie's lap, and Cassie had found Roz's nipple under her tight fitting sleep shirt. Cassie squeezed her hands around Roz's breasts, felt her nipple harden under her palms. Excitement rose, flooding her with warmth and a kind of loose-limbed pliability. Roz's tongue flicked against hers, her fingers dug into Cassie's shoulders. Finally she broke the kiss and whispered huskily in Cassie's ear.