/******
* The year is 2222. Human civilization has advanced to the point of
* interstellar space travel. In fact, traveling in space has become as
* mundane to some lucky people as driving on the freeway. Medical
* and engineering triumphs have improved the quality of life for all.
* However, there are just some things about humans that will never
* change...
*******/
--Chapter 1--
Cassie groggily opened her eyes and peered at the glowing display of the clock across the room. She rubbed the sleep from them and squinted until she could finally make out the blurry numbers. "0437 hours," read the green LED display embedded in the wall: the only source of light in the dark cabin. There was still at least another couple hours until she would need to wake up for her shift aboard the Raven. She peered over the railing of her bunk down at her roommate, Amber, who was still sound asleep; she had today off - lucky.
Cassie rolled back over and laid her head back down on her pillow. Her thick, red hair pooling under her as she stared up at the metal bulkhead ceiling. She closed her eyes and recalled the sight of her parents waving goodbye as the door on the transport shuttle sealed shut. That shuttle that brought her up to the Copernicus Space Station, one of the many stations orbiting the earth.
"I sure am going to miss mom and dad," she thought to herself, reaching up and trying to touch the ceiling as if reaching back for them. "Even Jeremy, the little brat." She thought fondly of the times she had had with her little brother, even if he could be annoying on occasion. The thoughts brought a smile to her face.
Cassie was eighteen years old, had just graduated, and had found a summer job - something her father had been adamantly insisting upon since the day school ended. She figured a job at Celestial Space Tours was a pretty good gig, especially since she was going to be going to college on Mars come autumn; might as well get used to being on spaceships and packed in tight quarters.
She lay there in her bunk, listening to the hum of the ventilation and life support systems aboard the space station. Normally they would probably be the kind of thing to lull her back to sleep, but at the moment it was just a reminder of the hostility of space. Cassie could tell her anxiety was high and that she was not going to be falling back asleep any time soon. Her first trip acting as primary tour guide was today.
Sure, she had practiced with Mrs. Higgs, her supervisor, and even gone out on the ship once to see how Amber did things. Cassie admired the confidence and poise Amber demonstrated as she pointed out different celestial bodies. However, this time it'd be different - it would be just her and a handful of tourists and nobody there to help her out if she fumbled over her words or forgot the name of a planet.
Cassie sighed and quietly climbed down from the top bunk. Amber shifted under the covers some as Cassie tried to feel around on the floor for her socks.
"Screw it, nobody is going to up at this hour anyway," she muttered quietly to herself. She shuffled to the door and waved her hand in front of the sensor. The door hissed open and the sterile, white light from the hallway flooded into their cabin. Amber groaned and rolled over and Cassie quickly stepped out into the hall, the door sliding closed again behind her.
She shielded her eyes, holding her hand out in front of her face as they adjusted to the bright environment. Cassie blinked a few times and looked down the hallway in each direction; sure enough there wasn't a soul in sight.
Cassie started walking down the hallway in the dormitory section, passing by the banks of doors leading to other rooms like her own. Her steps were nearly silent as her bare feet padded down the steel floor of the hall. The metal against her bare skin was cold and uncomfortable.
"Really wish I could have grabbed my socks," she muttered to herself.
Luckily, she was at least wearing her matching, fuzzy, pink pajamas that her mom had gotten her as a gift when they found out she got the job. "They'll keep you warm up there," Cassie recalled her mother saying as she opened the package.
An idea popped into Cassie's mind as she passed by the restrooms.
"A warm shower would feel amazing right now," she thought to herself and walked into the large bathroom.
Banks of stalls were along one wall, sinks along another. A set of lockers sat adjacent to a communal shower area - not exactly the most private setting, but at this time of night she figured she should be fine.
She opened up a locker and pulled her pajama top up and over her head, tossing it inside. Next, she pulled down her bottoms, along with her yellow and white striped underwear, and stepped out of them, putting them in the locker and shutting the door. Cassie turned the key and removed it, putting the elastic band the key was attached to around her wrist.
The overhead lights illuminated Cassie's bare skin with a pleasant glow. As a ginger, her complexion never really varied from its current shade of pale white. Cassie looked down at her pert breasts where her pink nipples stood erect from the cool air inside the station.
She examined her naked self briefly in the mirror and even though she wasn't the prettiest person she'd ever seen - she thought she was pretty cute. Her straight red hair hung down just below her shoulders. She was petite and rather slim. Her neatly trimmed bush matched the fiery color of her hair and contrasted nicely against her fair skin, forming a furry triangle on her mound, tucked between her legs.
Goosebumps started forming on her arms and legs and she hurried over to the showers. Cassie waved her hand in front of the sensor and wonderful, warm water erupted from the shower head, splashing down noisily on the tile in quiet bathroom. She closed her eyes and stepped into the stream of water, letting it wash over her and warm her cold extremities.
Cassie was in the middle of shampooing her hair when she heard footsteps entering the bathroom. "Eek!" she thought to herself as her heart began to race. The public showers were bad enough, but there was also the additional fact that the whole floor was co-ed.
"Were those from a man? A woman? No, no it definitely seemed like they were heavier, like from a man."
She turned away a bit, trying to be as decent as she could be in such a vulnerable state. After rinsing the shampoo from her hair, the suds had washed away from her face and she could finally open her eyes. She peeked back over her shoulder.
"It WAS a man!" she confirmed in her mind.
He was standing under another shower head a bit further down and had his eyes closed as his head hung down in the stream of water. He was bracing himself against the wall with one arm, clearly quite drowsy still.
She took the opportunity to have a little peek.
"I mean it's only fair," she thought to herself, "he probably ogled me when he came in."
The well-cut man stood at about 6'2" or so, the muscles on his legs and back quite visible under the rippling water. She had a great view of his sculpted ass and could see his cock and balls hanging loosely as he leaned slightly forward. He was quite large, even soft.
The stranger lifted his head and opened his eyes, Cassie quickly turned away and exploded in embarrassment. She felt her face flush and wondered if he had seen her looking. However, the rest of her shower went on pretty routinely and he never said a word; she figured he was probably half-dozing and barely even noticed her.
