Slave Ship

This is a sequel to Venus Ascending and continues the story. This story can stand alone, but it will make more sense if you read Venus Ascending. I appreciate any comments both on the previous story and its sequel.

OuPa99

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John had never been more frightened in his entire life. Even the revolution, where the love of his life had been in mortal danger, did not come close to this moment. As he slowly donned his spacesuit, Wes and several of his old "sewer rat" crew came into the green room. They all asked if there was anything they could do to help and of course there was nothing. This was something that only the duly elected governor of Venus Ascending could do.

He did however; ask all of them not to tell Lisa what was going on. She had a new baby to worry about and didn't need to worry about him. The words had just left his mouth when Lisa came running into the green room. She had the look of fear written all over her face, but it was mixed with quite a bit of anger. She walked him defiantly and swung her fist as hard as she could into his stomach. The spacesuits absorbed much of the blow so he didn't feel any pain.

Lisa's stepped back and screamed, "How dare you put yourself in harm's way without even saying goodbye. You have a baby daughter now that needs and loves you!"

Lisa choked back a sob and after she swallowed her tears added, "I need you too Master! Come back safely to me ... please!" She rushed forward throwing herself into his arms. She clung to him as tightly as she could and whimpered, "We need you! I need you, so come back safely to me ... Please!

John wrapped his bulky space suited arms around the love of his life and whispered, "I will my love. I have no intention of putting myself in danger or not coming back to you. However, this has to be done and I'm the only one that can do it."

Their kiss goodbye was just a little peck around the opening in the bulky spacesuit. John grabbed the helmet and sealed himself in his own world. He strapped on a portable air unit before opening the inner airlock door. He walked through the inner door and then turned to waved goodbye to Lisa and all of his well-wishers. His wife and new mother had the look of extreme anguish on her face and he was torn between his duty and his family.

Ultimately he punched the button to close the inner doors and begin the cycle to equalize the pressure with the vacuum of space. John strapped himself into a thruster harness that would allow him freedom of movement outside the space station. When the cycle was complete and John was ready, he opened the outer door.

He thumbed the thruster and slowly exited the space station that he called home. Waiting for him was the blackness of space with only bright points of stars providing any illumination. As he turned to the left there was a mighty warship stationed outside. The ship had suddenly appeared 12 hours ago and with its bristling armaments it seemed to have but one purpose... Invasion.

John had no idea how they had found them or what their reason was for being here. Only an hour before, they received a text message requesting a meeting with the space station's leader. Despite all the frantic negotiations with their ground-based teams and Earth's leadership, no one seemed to have a better solution than to have John meet with these beings from another world. John did not feel like he had the negotiating skills or the leadership capabilities for Earth's first contact with an alien race. Yet, here he was approaching a warship from an unknown Solar System.

As John maneuvered his thrusters towards the stationary ship, he could see their weapons following his every move. Despite the air-conditioning and coolness of space, John was still sweating inside his spacesuit. While it seemed like an eternity for him to reach the alien ship, in reality it was only 10 minutes.

As he neared the ship a door slid open and the invitation was obvious. This was to be his airlock and his entry into the unknown spaceship. As he began to cross the threshold into the ship he found it hard to breathe. He knew it was just anxiety because nothing had changed in his suit. As he crossed the threshold the door behind him slid shut. This left him in the inky black darkness inside the new ship.

He heard a faint hiss as the pressure equalized the interior pressure and in the enter airlock door began to open. John held his breath not knowing what he was going to see, but petrified of what the next few minutes might bring. As John's eyes began to acclimate to the bright lights inside the ship's jaw fell open with what he was seeing.

Chapter 2

Six Months Earlier

John stared at the earthly blue marble floating beneath him and it never failed to leave him dazzled. The color of the deep blue oceans, fluffy willowy clouds and the endless varieties of land never ceased to astound him. All of God's beautiful creations were on full display. He slowly turned his back on the beautiful blue orb looking into the emptiness of space. He turned to accomplish the job at hand, inspect the space station's ongoing repairs.

The fighting during the revolution resulted in the exterior hub of three decks being replaced before they were airtight again. Only when the exterior was repaired and could they begin work on the interior damage of those decks and those were extensive. All the new exterior seams had been x-rayed for defects and everything had been inspected, but John always felt like the human eye can pick up things that machines sometimes can't. So he always wanted to do a personal final inspection before discharging the repairs.

John's eyes took in the totality of the repairs and he noticed a distinct difference between the old and the new hull. The old hull had lots of scaring and some of it looked to be on the verge of failure. He ran his gloved hand over the exterior surface feeling the seams for any imperfections, but found only a smooth surface. He was satisfied with the repairs, but made a mental note to have the structural group inspect all of the space stations exterior shell.

He used his suit thrusters to get back to the newly retrofitted airlock. The whole Venus Ascending revolution had left him with an uneasy feeling of suspicion. The former governing council had been managed by gangsters in suits with many of the original bureaucrats and performers were still there. He knew he could trust many of the engineering staff, but he wasn't sure whom else he could trust. There had been several incidents of sabotage since the revolution had ended and the old guard was making themselves felt.

Therefore, when the outer doors closed on the airlock he waited until the entire compression cycle was complete before entering the inner airlock. Only when the inner door opened did he waddle through the door. He made sure the inner door was fully sealed and checked everything twice. After he was satisfied that he was securely inside the space station, he finally unlatched his helmet before taking it off.

Once in the green room he began to crawl out of his spacesuit and stowed all of his gear in his locker. Then he dressed in his normal clothes before heading to the teleconference room for his weekly conference call with his earthbound compatriots. He had weekly calls with the negotiation team back on earth. They would share their progress on setting up a new form of government for Venus Ascending and likewise, he would share his progress on repairing the space station.

John had been elected temporary governor of Venus Ascending. During these conference calls the negotiation team would also confirm orders from the space manufacturing section and also a list of materials that John needed to fix the space station. The manufacturing and agricultural sections of Venus were the only thing barely keeping it financially afloat. The demand for their low gravity greens and beef still surpassed the supply and the prices were very high.

The leaders of the negotiating team were all engineering managers like him, but they at least have a support staff of lawyers, writers and contract negotiators. During the negotiations anyone else that could help in negotiations was sent to earth or hired. As he walked to the teleconference room he couldn't help but reflect on all the lives lost and internal damage. The evidence of the revolution was still plain for everyone to see. He was the instigator of the revolution and felt responsible for all the destroyed lives and property.

When he reached the large screen teleconference room Sean was talking, with Ken and George standing beside him. All of them looked as though they had aged 10 years in the six months that they had been down on earth. John was glad he was here doing the engineering work that he loved instead of negotiating with gangsters and bureaucrats.

As he walked in Sean was grousing about the slow pace of the negotiations. "At this pace it will be years before we can finish these negotiations. I mean after all, how many times can you wordsmith the same paragraph? Oh, hi John glad you're here."

John looked at his three friends, studying their weary faces before he responded, "Hi guys, how's everything going?"

Ken spoke up, "John, it's frustrating as hell. Since our last conference call we have completed two paragraphs. At this rate we may never have a functioning government or security force."

John could sense their growing frustration and their faces show their growing apprehension. "Guys, do you think it's time to maybe hire a permanent earthbound staff? We know are going to need one at some point, but I was wondering what you guys thought about timing. To be honest y'all all look years older than you did six months ago."

Sean looked at the other two before responding, "John we were just talking about that the other day and we feel like it's time to come home. I think I'm speaking for all of us when I say a professional negotiation team can handle what needs to be done. We can all still approve of everything via conference call, email or even our hologram suite."

Ken piped in, "Besides John, you're having all the fun up there. You definitely got the better end of the bargain fixing up and repairing Venus. Speaking of that, what your progress?"

John smiled at his three friends before answering, "Well, I've made it a hell of a lot more progress than you guys have! Today I was doing the final inspection on the repair of all the exterior damage. We are all airtight again and ready to start on the more extensive interior damage. Of course, we've been working on the interior in all the places we could get too, but now we have the whole station we can work on."

Sean, Ken and George all started speaking at the same time, "wow! Great job! Incredible!"

John continued, "I did notice a bunch of external scarring on the hull. I think during all our repairs we must've neglected some of our normal maintenance. I could sure use some help up here guys!."

George looked at everyone before speaking, "I'm like everybody else, I'm ready to come home. However, do we have any idea where we stand financially? After all we've taken a huge hit on our tourism business and only the manufacturing and agricultural areas are keeping us financially afloat. Can we afford a more permanent earth side staff?"

Everyone looked at each other and finally Ken shrugged, "I think that's a question will have to pose to the accountants and our financial staff. I don't think any of us know, but it certainly is a valid concern. I'll take that as a to-do item and my guess is I won't have an answer until next week's call."

Everyone agreed and the rest of the Tele-conference call included many of the housekeeping items that they regularly did on the call. John started with a list of items that would be shipped over the next week and it included a bountiful harvest of low gravity vegetables and meats. Likewise, the manufacturing areas were also cranking up output and it would be a good month for them as well. John finally ended his updates with a list of new materials they needed for the repairs. The call began to wind down with the four friends sharing some private information and some of the local gossip.

Ken finally asked, "How's Lisa doing and the baby?"

John grinned as he thought of his love waiting for him before answering, "Both are doing great. The medical staff is having a great time with the first pregnancy in space. Lisa is glowing and happier than I have ever seen her! As for me, it's kinda surreal. With a revolution in space, a new gorgeous loving wife and a baby on its way, things have never been this good. "

George smiled and added, "Give her a kiss for all of us and get home to that beautiful lady." With that the connection was terminated.

John left the teleconference room knowing that he had gotten the best end of the post-revolutionary duties. He definitely wanted to get home to his apartment soon, because he knew what was waiting for him there ... His Lisa. Unfortunately he needed to stop by the liquid engineering office and check on his real job before he could go home.

John had delegated everything to his second-in-command, Wes. As he expected Wes was in his office talking to a new batch of "Sewer Rats". The new group of "Sewer Rats" was still being trained by the old guard. However, the older more experienced "Sewer Rats" were assuming their new duties as the Venus police force.

Everyone was glad to see John and they all talked about the changes in the power structure for a good 30 minutes before they got around to business. Everything seemed to be going well with the water and waste water chemistry stabilized at optimal levels.

John was about 30 minutes late getting back to his apartment. So he stopped by the slut hut and picked up some salads and dinners for the both of them. When he opened his door he stood frozen at a sight that always took his breath away. Lisa was kneeling on the floor in a slave presentation position. Her six-month pregnant belly was prominent under magnificent breasts. John could swear she looked more beautiful than she ever had.

Lisa had always been incredibly gorgeous with a face and a figure that would've stopped traffic on any street back on earth. Since virtually all of the entertainment staff and dancers were tall leggy blondes, Lisa was a little more exotic beauty here in space. At 5'2" with brunette hair and green eyes she stood out as more glamorous than the beautiful women that worked on Venus.

While her physical appearance was awe inspiring, John was in love with everything else about her. Lisa lived her life with passion in everything she did. She put all of her passion into her dancing, but also into the way she loved him. She loved him with her heart and soul, freely giving herself to the man that loved her back.

Both of them had been married before, but neither of them had ever had a relationship that was so easy. Lisa and John felt at ease and at peace when they were with each other. The rest of the world was in chaos, but their sanctuary was in each other's arms. This was something brand-new to both of them and it seemed so right whenever they were together.

When people threatened to harm her, he went to war. The revolution on Venus Ascending began when the Council threatened to harm Lisa. John was usually an easy-going guy, but when someone threatened Lisa he had to take action. Now they were married with a child on the way. Lisa was so happy with the baby growing inside her that she positively glowed. A baby was something she never dreamed of having and John had given her that.

John set the food inside the door and quietly closed the door before he knelt in front of the woman that owned his heart. He sat on the floor and pulled her into his lap. Lisa immediately snuggled her face into his neck and for several minutes not a word was said as their love flowed effortlessly between them. John caressed her naked belly and to him it felt like he was holding both of them in his arms.

Finally John whispered into her ear, "How are both of my babies today?"

The words hadn't even left his mouth when the tummy he under his hand began to squirm with jabs from tiny feet and elbows.

Lisa giggled as she snuggled deeper into his lap, "She's been practicing her dance routines all day and I think were both worn out, my Master."

John stroked Lisa's protruding tummy in an effort to calm their rambunctious daughter. After a few minutes it seemed to work and her belly calmed. John dragged the bag of food over to them where they nibbled on some of the salad. His intention was to go to the table and eat the rest of their dinner. However neither of them wanted to separate so they finished their dinner sitting on the floor with Lisa in John's lap.

After their impromptu picnic, they crawled into bed, snuggled and watched a movie before they fell asleep in each other's arms. As Lisa lay sleeping in his arms and John was drifting towards sleep himself, he pondered about how perfect his life was. He had never had a time in his life that was so serene and perfect. It was all due to Lisa and he loved her with everything he had!