Lost in Space

The enormous Gateway station lay in a low Earth orbit. One of the primary hubs for the shipment of both freight and personnel between the planet and all of the colonies spread across the solar system, it was a mass of residential blocks, vast cargo bays, and docking ports.

A mission was scheduled to depart from here today to rush replacement parts, food stuffs and medical supplies out to a starship that was now limping slowly through interstellar space, damaged by the impact of an errant asteroid. It was an important mission and needed to be done with all due haste, but something was delaying the loading of the cargo containers onto the transport vehicle

Galileo VII

.

Designed for the speedy delivery of urgently needed supplies and equipment, the

Galileo VII

was much smaller and faster than the massive freighters that carried the great bulk of humanity's cargo through the depths of space and so was perfect for a mission like this. With most of it's interior space taken up by over-powered engines and cargo space, there were precious few creature comforts available for the crew. Thanks to the wonders of modern computerized automation though, only four people actually needed to be inconvenienced to keep her operating effectively. At this moment, the crew of the

Galileo VII

was still back on the station, having their breakfast and receiving a final mission briefing.

Unfortunately, something seemed to be slowing down the loading of the cargo and thus jeopardizing the departure time that had been scheduled. With rapidly growing annoyance, the dock master could only watch helplessly as the standardized cargo containers backed up, the 'bots who were supposed to be moving them seeming to take forever to come back for the next load.

Marching into his office, Chip Monk went straight to the computer and called up which team was supposed to be overseeing the loading of the

Galileo VII

this morning. When the names came up, a moan that spoke eloquently of long suffering escaped him.

He really should have guessed.

"Computer, I wish to communicate with First Technician Helen Highwater."

The machine answered immediately. "Connecting."

A wall mounted monitor lit up to reveal a woman in her early thirties sitting behind a desk. She was a woman of modest looks with unmanageable mousey brown hair cut short in a style that did nothing to accentuate the shape of her face. Her eyes were a dull and lifeless brown, hidden behind a pair of spectacles, her nose was large, and her wide mouth was framed by a set of thin lips. Naturally, she was dressed in her uniform, a body hugging set of coveralls that did nothing to conceal just how plump she was or how small her bosom was.

She didn't seem to have noticed that the communicator had hummed into life and was totally engrossed in reading a book, the cover of which revealed it to be one of those gothic, bodice ripper romances.

Chip waited a moment, but when she continued to fail to notice him, he quietly cleared his throat. She didn't hear it, running her tongue over her lips as she reached a particularly steamy passage of her novel. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat again, much louder this time.

He was heard loud and clear this time and he had to admit that the way that book was hidden away in an instant was actually pretty impressive. If he hadn't seen the truth for himself, he might well have bought the fiction that she had been doing her job. "Dock Master Monk!" she said with a big, but patently insincere smile. "How good to see you this morning, sir! You're looking very well today. Have you been working out? I'm sorry for not noticing you earlier, but I was just so engrossed in tracking the loading of the

Galileo VII

. . ."

"About the

Galileo VII

," Chip interrupted, hoping to cut through the crap and get straight to the point. "Something is slowing down the cargo loading. I've checked and the problem isn't at my end of things, so I need you to check up on your subordinate before we have to delay the ship's departure."

"Oh, I am so sorry, sir. I had been tracking the situation of course," she lied, "but I hadn't realized it was as bad as that. I can assure you it's not at all my fault in any way whatsoever."

"Your team was tasked with overseeing the loading, First Technician," was his blunt reply. "As the leader of the team, in the final analysis it is your responsibility."

"But . . ."

"Just get it fixed," he growled. "And fast."

"Yes, sir. I promise you I'll have this problem fixed before you know it."

* * *

Striding along the short boarding tube that led from the space station with a brisk and efficient step that told everyone she passed that her errand was urgent, Helen Highwater had an annoyed frown on her face as she made her way into the craft that was docked here.

Her mission to find out what was holding things up this morning was a simple one, in truth. She already knew without question just who was causing the problem.

Passing through the hatch that led into the cavernous main cargo bay, she found herself on an elevated catwalk that overlooked the vast open area were the freight was actually staged. Here and there, ladders led down to the floor, but she chose to stay where she was for the moment so that she could use the high perch to spot her quarry.

Sure enough, she quickly spotted just what she was expecting to find.

Her subordinate technician Poppy Cox had been given the tedious job of overseeing the 'bots who were actually bringing the cargo containers in here and getting them secured both with old fashioned straps and with gravity braces.

It was extremely important to make sure that every bit of that cargo was properly secured so that it couldn't shift during the voyage as it could so easily be damaged or, in a worst case scenario, even cripple the

Galileo VII

itself. All of the actual labor was being performed by humanity's robotic helpers of course, but the regulations said that a human being had to be there to make absolutely sure that everything was done correctly. The 'bots had such a minimal failure rate however that the job was nothing less than mind-numbingly boring.

And that was why it was a perfect job for someone like Poppy.

As she peered down from the catwalk, Helen wondered not for the first time just what kind of pervert had designed those 'bots.

They were tubular in shape and stood about six feet tall with the top sculpted into a sort of helmet shape and the base mounted with twin spheres that contained the gear that allowed the machine to move about. It had no arms at all to spoil it's smooth lines, equipped instead with energy projectors that shot out gravitational beams that allowed it to move and secure the heavy cargo containers with utter ease.

It was a simple practical design, but to the eyes of most observers the 'bots looked exactly like an oversized, erect male sex organ.

This was merely an embarrassment most of the time, but when you add in a young woman like Poppy whose intelligence was limited but who was just overflowing with a natural and unbridled sensuality, then it became a major problem. From her overlook, Helen could clearly see that the young woman had gotten one of the three 'bots cornered and was pressing the entire length of her body up against it, her hands slowly stroking it's smooth sides.

The girl evidently didn't fully understand that a 'bot wasn't really an erect penis and so she kept getting distracted from her work by the urge to fondle and stroke them. The machines were programmed to do whatever they were told by their human masters and so, when she did get distracted, it had no choice but to stop doing the work it had been assigned and permit her to have her way with it.

And that was why this wasn't such a perfect job for someone like Poppy.

Sighing heavily, Helen made her way over to the nearest ladder, wondering just what kind of terrible crime she had committed to be penalized with a subordinate like this. On reaching the floor of the storage bay, Helen turned to face her subordinate with her arms crossed and with an appropriately annoyed expression arrayed on her face.

"Second Technician!"

The young woman was taken completely by surprise by her boss, jumping and stumbling away from the machine she had been molesting. She recognized that she was in trouble and so she ducked her head, clasping her hands together in front of her, looking very slightly embarrassed and just a little bit ashamed of herself.

The 'bot simply returned to it's work meanwhile, though Helen felt sure that somewhere deep down in it's silicon chip soul, the emotionless automaton must have felt at least a little grateful for this timely rescue.

As she regarded the young woman, Helen was able to find a moment to be more than a little envious of all the physical gifts Poppy had been blessed with.

Though sweet, innocent, and more than a little stupid, the younger woman had the body of a sex goddess. She had a long and luxuriant mane of platinum blonde hair, big and sparkling green eyes, and full and utterly kissable lips. Like her boss, she too was dressed in a set of tight fitting coveralls, but in her case it molded itself perfectly to her curvaceous figure and showed without question that she was not wearing any underwear beneath it. Unlike Helen though who hardly had anything up top, Poppy came well armed with a set of huge and gravity defying boobs.

Poppy was enough to make any woman alive feel self-conscious, even second rate, but it was worse for Helen since she also didn't have a very good opinion of her appearance to begin with. The First Technician could only imagine how high she would have risen through the ranks by now if her mind had been teamed with such a fantastic body.

"I'm sorry, Helen," Poppy said in a small, meek voice, her lips pursed into a pout. "I guess I got a little distracted again."

"First Technician Highwater!" Helen corrected. The girl was friendly and outgoing to a fault and often forgot such niceties.

Poppy ducked her head even lower and tried again. "I'm very sorry, First Technician Highwater. I'm afraid I got a little distracted again."

With the girl's eyes focused on the ground, Helen took full advantage of the opportunity to have a closer look at this beautiful young creature. Though she found Poppy endlessly frustrating, even she was not immune to the powerful aura of sexiness this flighty woman exuded. For whatever reason, Helen especially enjoyed checking the girl out at times like this when she was being all submissive . . .

Hurriedly, Helen pulled herself together before she got caught.

"Distracted?! Poppy, how many times do I have to tell you that those 'bots are just machines? They have no feelings and no emotions at all! They are not real . . ." She was on duty here and could not quite bring herself to speak the word penis, much less the coarser terms for that bit of the male anatomy.

"Oh, I know that, First Technician. But they really do look just like them, don't they?" One of the 'bots happened to glide by the two women then, holding a crate in mid-air with a shimmering beam of green light, and Poppy could not resist turning her head to watch it. "Whenever I spend time with them like this, I just can't help but think about how much fun it would be to play with a real dick that was six feet tall . . ."

The girl's voice trailed off and Helen could see that she was losing her to another absurd fantasy. It was clear that they were not going to be able to hold this conversation here with three giant mechanical phalluses vying for her attention. They needed to take this somewhere else where she could be assured of having Poppy's full attention.

There were the crew's living compartments of course, but it would have been an unforgivable breach of their privacy to enter any of them. There was also the Common Area where the crew could relax and socialize while off duty, but there were just too many forms of entertainment in there that might distract the other woman. There was the engineering compartment, but the idea of allowing Poppy anywhere near this vessel's overpowered engines was nothing short of terrifying to Helen. As far as she could see, that left the senior technician with only one place to take her subordinate.

"Come on, Poppy," she said wearily, motioning for the girl to follow even as she turned and headed for the nearest lift. "Let's go up to the bridge."

"The bridge!?"

The way the other woman gasped in excitement made Helen wonder if this was really such a great idea.

* * *

The bridge was full of flashing lights and flickering screens and humming electronics and Poppy was just overcome. As her boss stalked over to stand before the helm and navigation console at the front of the room, the girl just wandered around as if in a daze, slowly soaking in every exciting, fascinating detail.

The

Galileo VII

's main computer noted the arrival of the two humans instantly, accessed it's database and did not recognize them as members of the crew. This failure did not deter it however and so it checked with the computers on the Gateway station to identify them and this time found success. Naturally, it wanted to know what these two were doing up here on the bridge rather than back down in the bowels of the ship where they were supposed to be. It had to be deferential though - like the 'bots, it was programmed to obey the orders of it's human masters.

"Good morning, First Technician and Second Technician," the computer spoke, it's voice soft and gentle, masculine but very deliberately modulated to be nonthreatening. "How may I be of service to you?"

Poppy's eyes just lit up, excited at the prospect of making a new friend - even if it was just an artificial intelligence. She would not get a chance to chat with the computer then, though.

Helen glanced up in irritation at the sound of the synthetic voice. She needed to have a very serious discussion with her subordinate and had come here for the sole purpose of getting away from mechanical interruptions, so she did not welcome the friendly question from the main computer. "Be quiet, computer. You may not speak aloud again until I give you permission, too."

With no choice in the matter, the machine obediently shut up.

Helen's attention immediately returned to the other woman then and Poppy shrank back from the fierce glare that was directed at her. Helen remained silent for a moment, crossing her arms as she studied the guilty girl, one toe tapping irritably, but then spoke in a low and carefully controlled voice.

"You stupid, stupid girl, you. Don't you understand how important your work is? If every last bit of that cargo isn't properly secured, this ship could be wrecked! Do you really want the deaths of the four people who crew this thing on your conscience?"

Poppy shrank even farther away, backing away a step or two as she unconsciously tried to retreat from her bosses accusations.

"And what about the mission? Don't you realize how important it is that the

Galileo VII

get out to that starship? They are in deep trouble, Poppy, and they need these supplies desperately! How much longer are they going to have to stay trapped out there in deep space just because you want to play with the 'bots instead of doing your job? We are on a tight schedule, but you've put all of that in jeopardy by playing around!"

Poppy ducked her head, hugging herself as she faced up to the uncomfortable truth of the consequences of her moment of distraction.

"And let's face it, Poppy, this isn't the first time I've had to talk to you like this! It seems to me like you're getting into some sort of trouble every other day! How did someone as inept as you ever get hired in the first place? How do you expect to keep your job if you cannot even do the simplest of tasks?"

This was really starting to seriously alarm Poppy as it was starting to sound like she might be about to lose her job. With her admittedly checkered work history, she felt sure that there was no way she could convince her boss that she deserved to keep her job and so instead she pulled out the big guns.

Fortunately for her, Poppy had an ace up her sleeve - a trick Poppy had learned a long, long time ago and it had stood her in good stead her entire life. She wasn't an especially vain person, but she was well aware that just about everyone seemed to consider her a very desirable woman. While she certainly loved to have sex just for fun too, she also had discovered that a roll in the hay could defuse another persons anger and make them more willing to forgive and forget her countless mistakes. It was a trick that had never failed her yet!

Pulling herself together, she drew herself up to fully face her superior again, her shoulders back to emphasize her oversized bust and with her best megawatt smile on her face.

"Wanna fuck?"

As far as Helen was concerned, the question just seemed to come out of nowhere and she was nonplused. "I beg your pardon?"

Reaching up with one hand, Poppy tugged the zipper of her coveralls down far enough so that miles of cleavage was revealed and her big bosom threatened to spring out. Helen was unable to wrap her mind around the notion that her subordinate seemed to be undressing right here on the bridge of this little transport in violation of probably a dozen regulations and her eyes were naturally and irresistibly drawn down to those heavy udders, staying right there as if fixed.

"What are you . . .?"

Before she could react and somehow defend herself, Poppy sprang forward and gathered Helen up in her arms, kissing her firmly full on the mouth.

It's kind of a hard transition to make when you are berating someone one second and the next they are putting the moves on you in a very big way and so the First Technician was understandably having quite a bit of trouble getting her bearings. What was happening to her now was so completely outside her experience that she found herself at a complete loss.

One thing that did keep echoing through Helen's mind however was what a great kisser this girl was.

Wilting under the other woman's determined assault, Helen sagged back against the helm and navigation console without even realizing what she was sitting on.

Unable to speak a warning thanks to Helen's command that it must stay silent, the computer could only light up a screen on the console to announce that the

Galileo VII

's main drives had just been activated and that this was a bad idea while the ship was still docked to the station. As the distant thunder of the powerful engines started to rumble and a gentle vibration coursed through the deck beneath them, the computer reminded the two women that the regulations clearly stated that only maneuvering thrusters should be used when in proximity to Gateway.

Neither woman even saw that flashing screen, though. Poppy was completely focused on showing her boss an awful good time, and Helen was rapidly losing touch with everything but this moment and the sensual young woman who had come on to her so very strongly.

Kissing her back now with more and more urgency, her hands coming to rest quite firmly on Poppy's hips, Helen was rapidly growing more and more excited. This probably wouldn't have been a problem had the couple found somewhere else to enjoy this tryst, but Helen was still sitting on that console and more and more buttons were being pressed while she wriggled.

Poppy then tugged the zipper of her bosses coveralls down slowly, going all the way down to her waist. The view she revealed wasn't nearly as spectacular as it had been when the younger woman's coveralls had been unzipped and it was true that nothing threatened to come springing out, but Poppy was evidently not a bit disappointed when she spread Helen's top wide open to fully reveal those small breasts. Grabbing a tit in each hand, she lowered her head to start sucking at the nipples.