Border Station Five

John had a splitting headache. Opening his eyes, he sat up and rubbed his forehead. "Ow," John said as he looked around. He had been moved to one of the other beds in Medical.

"How do you feel?" came a familiar voice. John looked to where he had heard it, and Doctor Mizta stood nearby.

"Apart from this headache, I feel fine," he replied.

"It should pass shortly," the Doctor said. She stepped forward and used the scanner on her wrist, "so far, my scans show that your body took to the treatments quite well," Mizta frowned when her scanner beeped.

"What's wrong?" John asked, concerned that the beeping noise meant something bad.

"I keep getting an odd reading from your groin," she replied.

"What's wrong with my groin?" he asked and looked down. John couldn't see anything was wrong, although his balls did ache.

"Your reproductive organs are fine," Mizta replied, deactivating her scanner. "I will have the Chief Engineer look at it. Perhaps the scanner is malfunctioning," she finished and looked at John. "I think it is about time we went and saw the Captain," Mizta said and smiled.

Before he could reply, John's stomach grumbled, "can I get some food first?" he asked.

"I am sure Captain Ema would understand a slight delay," Mizta replied. John swung his feet around and hopped off.

"Damn, this floor is cold," he said, and then there was a flash of neon blue light as John activated his Nanosuit. "Much better," he smiled and looked up at Mizta.

"If you follow me, I will show you where we get our food," Mizta said, then headed towards one of the exits. Following close behind, John tried his best not to stare at Mizta's backside. He noticed that her tail swung left to right as she walked, and each impact of her feet made her butt wobble.

"If I was alone, I think I would get lost," John said from behind. Slowing her pace, Mizta looked down at him as they walked.

"Once you see the Captain, you will be issued a pad. It has a map of the ship," she said, tapping the tablet attached to her thigh.

"Oh, you call it a 'pad'," he said, "I've been calling them tablets," John looked up at her.

"Pad, tablet, I guess they are the same thing," she shrugged as they continued down another identical corridor.

Around ten minutes later, after walking through several more corridors of the same light grey material, John stopped next to Mizta as they came upon a queue of Vipers. Looking ahead, he could see around fifteen of them, all waiting patiently in a line, some chatting and others reading from their pads.

John tugged on Mizta's right hand, "why's there a queue?" he half-whispered.

"There is no need to whisper, John," she said with a smile. One of the Vipers in front looked behind her.

"Hello," she said with a smile.

"Hello," John replied, looking up at her.

"This is John, the Terran male we rescued," Mizta said, gesturing to John.

"Well, I am Thissa," she smiled at John again.

Looking at Thissa, John saw how her dark green scales covered the top half of her head and hood. Her scales were a lighter shade of green from her jaw and neck. Dotted about her dark green scales, Thissa had a black camouflage pattern similar to the now extinct Leopards on Earth. Her eyes shone a warm yellow, along with her mouth and tongue as she spoke. John then looked at the Nanosuit she wore. Instead of the skintight uniforms he had seen, Thissa's Nanosuit looked like armour. It reminded him of the Iron Man nanosuit armour from the MCU films he loved as a child. However, just like the skintight Nanosuits, John could still see how large her breasts were.

"You have a lovely pattern on your scales," John said, and his compliment made Thissa grin.

"Thank you," she replied. A few Vipers in the queue heard the conversation and turned around. However, before the others could fuss over John, a voice called out from the front.

"Next fifteen," the unknown speaker shouted. The queue of Vipers started to move, John and Mizta behind them. He saw them walking through a large pair of doors as they reached the front of the queue. John guessed they were the same height as the ceiling in Medical, and their width was around five feet.

Standing before the doors, John could see the Viper who had shouted. Wearing the same armoured Nanosuit as Thissa, the new Viper had jet-black scales. Around her eyes, her tongue and the inside of her mouth glowed a vibrant turquoise. When the Viper turned to look at John, he could see that the inner, softer part of her hood was also glowing.

"Doctor Mizta, and...I do not believe we have met?" the Viper said.

"This is the Terran male we rescued from the unknown ship," Mizta said.

"Hello, I'm John,'' he said while looking up at the black Viper.

"Security Chief Yutsi," she replied, looking down at him, "you will have to wait your turn," Yutsi then looked over at Mizta. "I thought you were taking him to see the Captain," John's stomach grumbled when she finished.

"As you can hear, he is quite hungry," Mizta replied. "I thought it best to let him have some food first," she said, then pressed her thumb against Yutsi's pad. John heard it beep, and then the Security Chief held it lower and in front of him.

"Just place your right thumb onto the pad. It will scan it, and you will be registered," Yutsi said. John walked forward, and after a few seconds, the pad scanned his thumb, and the pad beeped. "The Doctor will show you what to do when you get inside. Just be careful in there," Yutsi turned around and headed through the large doors.

Taking a step back, John turned and looked up at Doctor Mizta, "what did she mean by that?" she asked.

"You are a male entering a room filled with around fifty females," she replied, laughing when she saw John's expression. "Do not worry," she said, "I am here," Mizta then turned her head to watch as a small group of Vipers appeared behind them.

"Why do I feel like you're about to hold my hand so I don't get mobbed?" John asked, following Mizta's gaze.

"I can hold your hand if you want?" she said, smiling at him when he looked up at her.

"Ha, ha," John said and then looked back at the doors. Yutsi had reappeared.

"Next fifteen," she shouted.

Mizta led John through the two large doors, and he was surprised to find that he had entered a canteen. Just to his left was the group of Vipers who had been in front of them when they had arrived in the corridor. Thissa smiled at John when they joined the queue. Looking around the canteen, he saw that the tables and benches were light grey and arranged in neat rows within the large room. He guessed the walls were about fifty meters long and the sides around twenty. At each table were groups of Vipers, and John guessed each group worked together as they had matching uniforms. He was also surprised to see how varied the scale colours were. John did not expect the vibrant light show as the crew ate their food.

"What do you think?" Thissa asked.

"I'm not sure what I expected to see when I entered, but not this," John replied, "why does the food give off light?" he asked.

"It is how we get our bioluminescence," Mizta replied.

"I'm not going to start glowing, am I?" John asked as the line moved several paces forward. Mizta shook her head.

"No. Terran bioluminescence is not strong enough, and the food is only designed to boost ours," Mizta handed him a familiar-looking tray. A few minutes later, John and Mizta arrived at the food counters.

"How do I choose?" John asked as the Viper behind the screen waited for his request.

"Your body can now process our food. I suggest you just ask for one of everything," Mizta replied.

John looked up at the Viper and smiled, "erm..I'll have one of everything," he said. With his tray raised, John watched as she placed ten small bowls and a cup of what appeared to be water onto his tray.

"I will keep him company while you get your food," Thissa called out as the queue moved forward. Mizta nodded, and John followed her as she approached a table.

Following behind Thissa, John noticed a few heads turn in his direction and that the noise level had dropped. Weaving his way around several groups of tails, he arrived at an empty table. John now noticed how big it was and the two benches. Picking a spot, he placed his tray down and hopped onto the bench, laughing when he saw his feet dangling.

"I like the yellow one," Thissa said as she used her long tongue to lick the contents of her larger bowl.

Tipping each bowl to see the colour of the contents, John found the one with the yellow paste. For the first time since he entered the canteen, he realised everyone was licking out the contents of the bowls. John picked up the small bowl containing the yellow paste, sniffed it, and noted it had no smell. He then scooped up some of the paste with a finger and placed it inside his mouth.

"What do you think of its taste?" Thissa asked, her mouth full of paste.

To John, it didn't taste of anything. He finished eating it and then tried a different colour. One of them tasted a bit like fish, and another chicken. John thought the green paste tasted like chocolate. He glanced over to where Thissa sat and saw the glow of her mouth get brighter as she licked the contents of her bowl.

"How are you finding the paste?" Mizta asked as she sat down opposite him.

"Some have no taste, while others remind me of food from home," he replied.

"We used to eat live food," Mizta said, "however, it made spaceships impractical," John watched as Mizta's long tongue came out of her mouth as she started to eat her bowl of glowing paste.

"How come you don't glow?" John inquired.

"I am an albino," she replied, "our bodies do not contain the necessary parts for bioluminescence," she looked up at John, and he laughed.

"You have some on your nose," he pointed out. John then watched as Mizta used her tongue to clean it off. He then shifted where he sat as the ache from his balls came back.

"Something wrong?" the Doctor asked.

"It's nothing," he replied. Sniffing the air, he looked up at Mizta, "by the way, why is everyone wearing the same perfume?" he asked.

"Perfume?" the Doctor said, "no one is wearing perfume," she replied as she continued to lick her bowl.

"Really?" John was surprised, "then how come ever since I woke up outside the quarantine shield, I keep smelling warm berries? It reminds me of a favourite perfume," he asked. John noticed that the conversations near to where they were sitting died down.

"You like the smell?" Thissa asked, a look of surprise on her face.

"Yeah," he replied, "I could probably enjoy it for hours," John said as he started to eat some glowing pink paste. He then noticed the canteen had gone quiet. "What did I say?" John asked, concerned he had done something wrong.

"Musk," Mizta replied.

"Musk?" he repeated.

Both Thisssa and Mizta nodded, "a Viper has musk glands located in several locations on our bodies," she said, "the largest is located just inside our anal canal," John wasn't sure this was the best time for a Viper anatomy lesson, "between females and males, we produce a stronger smell," Mizta then made eye contact with John, "apart from Viper males, you are the only other male from another species who has said they liked the smell," as Mizta finished, John could feel all the eyes in the canteen looking at him. He glanced around and could see looks of surprise. A few Vipers smiled at him, and one or two winked when he made eye contact.

"Doctor Mizta," John jumped when he heard the Security Chief's voice, "perhaps it is best if you take the male to see the Captain," she said, "while it is nice to know John enjoys the smell of our musk," she looked around the canteen, "I would prefer it if a fight for the male did not break out," Yutsi then smiled at John.

"Shall we?" Mizta said, looking over at John. He nodded and then hopped off the bench.

"Either finish your food or leave," the Security Chief told the crew watching. There were a few lingering looks at John as he and Mizta got up and headed for the exit. As they left, he heard the varied conversations continue.

*****

The small fleet of sleek, off-white Matriarchy ships arrived at the system's edge. Shortly afterwards, the fleet adjusted their position, and the nine smaller ships huddled around the larger Cruiser, Pride of the Matriarchy. Captain Ema commanded the fleet to engage Vortex shields and spin up their Vortex drives as she sat in her command chair onboard the Cruiser. Across the fleet, compartments opened up and rising from inside their hulls, large, oval-shaped Vortex shield generators activated as they glowed a vibrant yellow. A teardrop-shaped bubble formed around the fleet, the pointed tip at the front. The glowing engines of each ship deactivated, and from inside armoured compartments located just in front of each ship's engines, three spinning gold-coloured spheres rose. As the spheres spun, a golden light, similar in brightness to a sun, appeared within the middle of each one. The spinning spheres started to glow, and just before it looked like they would melt, they sent the energy down heavily armoured cables toward the front of each ship.

"Vortex drives at fifty per cent," one crew member said, sitting inside the Cruiser's bridge.

"All hands, this is the Captain. Prepare for Vortex jump," Ema announced.

The crew packed away anything loose throughout the Cruiser and strapped themselves into nearby jump chairs. A few wayward Vipers hurried out of the canteen, Security Officers shouting at them to hurry. Mizta pulled John's left hand towards a nearby door. As she opened it, he could see that it was an armoury and that there were three spare chairs. Stepping in, the Security Officers inside looked up.

"Doctor Mizta?" one of them called out. She noticed John by her side, "hurry up and get him strapped in," the Viper finished and tapped away at a control pad on her chair. Before he could say anything, Mizta picked John up and placed him in the middle chair. The jump chair's harness looked almost identical to the Poseidon's five-point harness. After John secured the third strap, Yutsi appeared.

"Mizta, get yourself strapped in. I will finish that," she said and walked over to where John was. She slotted in the last strap and pressed a button on his chair's keypad. There was a hum behind him, and each strap adjusted to his build. John watched Yutsi sit in the chair to his right, strapping herself in.

"Vortex drives at eighty per cent," Ema heard as the fleet markers, projected in front of her, changed from blue to a bright red, notifying her that they were ready to jump.

The tear-drop-shaped bubble started to glow as the Matriarchy fleet drifted through space. The energy released from the Vortex drives began to coalesce at its tip.

"Vortex drives are at one hundred per cent. All Captains report ready to jump," announced the Comms Officer.

"Helm, commence jump," Ema ordered.

With a push of a button, the energy collected at the front of the fleet opened a portal into the Vortex. A blinding light surrounded the tear-drop-shaped bubble, and the fleet engaged their Vortex engines, pushing themselves through. Inside the armoury, John felt as though someone punched him in the gut and then blinded as a bright, yellow light enveloped him.

*****

John's balls ached. It was a familiar feeling. However, he still didn't understand why they had ached. His ears picked up the sound of muted voices, and then, as John opened his eyes, he saw Yutsi looking down at him from her seat.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, resisting the urge to rub his groin.

"The ship jumped into the Vortex," she replied, the light from above reflecting off her pink eyes.

"What's the Vortex?" John asked while stretching his arms and legs. He noticed that his feet were dangling off the ground.

"It is how we travel faster than light," Mizta replied. She scanned him again, and her scanner beeped again.

"I thought you said that didn't work?" John asked.

"I did a maintenance check while you were asleep. It came back as functioning normally," Mitza replied and frowned when she read the result.

"Let me guess, something wrong with my groin?" he asked while noticing the other Vipers were listening.

"It keeps coming up with an anomaly," she replied, "have you felt any different since you last woke up?" the Doctor asked.

He leaned over and whispered to her, "Well, my balls ache for some reason," John answered.

"What are balls?" one of the Security Officers asked. John looked over to where she was sitting.

"You heard that?" he asked, his face red.

"John, Vipers have excellent hearing," Mizta replied, "everyone in the armoury heard you," She scanned John again, and her scanner beeped.

"Do I have to answer?" he asked. Looking around, he saw all of the Vipers were looking at him. "Balls are.." John was interrupted by a voice heard from above.

"All crew can resume their duties," it said. Hitting the middle of the harness, hoping it was the release, John hopped off the jump chair as the straps were released and promptly walked out of the armoury.

"Aww, I wanted to know what balls were," said one of the Security Officers.

"Perhaps he'll tell you if you are alone with him?" Yutsi said as Mizta released her harness and stood up.

Mizta found John at the end of the corridor, "are you alright?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," he replied, "I just didn't expect I would be explaining what the slang word for testicles was," John said and then looked up at Mizta. "Shall we head to the bridge?" he asked. She nodded and then continued down the corridor, John in tow.

Arriving twenty minutes later, John could see two large armoured doors as they approached. Standing near them were the twins. Seeing him, they both smiled and then bowed their heads.

"Hello, John," the twins said in unison.

John smiled at them when they stood up again, "Hello to both of you," he said, "so this is where you work?" John asked, and the twins nodded. Taki held out her pad, and John watched as Mizta placed her right thumb onto it. Zoki did the same thing to John, and he copied Mizta. Once both pads had beeped, he heard the doors unlock and slowly open.

Following Mizta as she walked onto the bridge, John looked around. Unlike the parts of the ship he had already seen, the bridge had two different colours. The upper half was the same light grey John had seen as he walked the ship's corridors, while the lower half was darker. The shape of the bridge was an oval, and he guessed it was around thirty meters by fifteen, with the ceiling around fifteen feet high. John could also see a circular light in the middle of the roof, which was bright enough to light most of the bridge. The entrance to the bridge was on the righthand side of the oval, and a series of unknown, boxy machines sat on either side of the door.

Looking to his right, towards the front of the bridge, John saw a giant hologram projected onto the curved wall. Near the projection were three rows of computer consoles, each manned by a Viper. Two Vipers were at the front, then three, and the last row had five. He could see that each one was busy working. Getting his attention, Mizta led John towards a raised platform just off-centre to the rear of the bridge, and as he walked up the steps, John saw two oversized chairs, one positioned behind and above the other. Behind those, he could see a large door. John noticed that Mizta had stopped next to what looked like a table with a bright green hologram projected above it. A group of Vipers stood around the table, two taller than the rest.

"So, this is the Terran male we rescued," one of the two taller Vipers said. She smiled at John when he made eye contact. He liked how her eyes and mouth glowed green.