Spar the Runner

Spark the Runner Ch. 08

The Continuing Adventures of Spark, Tonya, Okami & Friends

Author's note:

This is a continuation of previous years'

Geek Pride event

Spark the Runner stories (1 thru 7). It isn't necessary to read the previous ones to enjoy this one, but you might find it entertaining...

Okay, so I still have a perverse need to keep this one going. In the spirit of fair warning, this continues where the last one left off and continues both the physical and metaphysical adventures, the nonhuman relations and so forth, mostly on Earth and concentrating on the Solarian Consortium's efforts to get up and running. Large amounts of the tour of the Enclaves will be abbreviated and more attention paid to the interpersonal relationships and their development.

The Geek Pride event isn't a contest. That being said, voting and comments are how I know how well I am pleasing you, the reader. Enjoy.

*~ *~ *~ *~ *

When we last left our intrepid adventurers...

We spent part of today on a Run, gathering some information which bears directly on yours,

Tonya told her.

We would be willing to 'put our heads together' as they say, for our mutual benefit.

That is excellent,

Maya smiled again and her wings fluttered a little.

So, what are you doing this evening?

Getting something to eat!

Okami interjected.

I'm starving!

And after that?

Apparently, you,

Okami told her.

A contemplative quiet descended on the six Solarians and one Denebite seated at the table.

* * * * *

Dinner at the Three Flamingos was excellent, as far as the Trade Team was concerned. Fresh seafood in a wide variety, prepared in taste tantalizing ways, and filling. The entire party, Maya included, was impressed.

The Enclave controls the site, with materials coming in or going out included,

the Professor explained telepathically, in deference to Maya.

Which means everything from food and office supplies to fissionable materials. Some enclaves, like this one, let a contract to a local entrepreneur to operate a venue separate from the primary Commissary. It seems to boost morale by breaking up boredom. I, personally, enjoy it.

It sure breaks up the 'institutional' feel,

Spark agreed.

I find the grilled mahi-mahi, combined with the rice, yellow squash and avocados to be quite interesting,

Tonya thought to them.

The juxtaposition of the spices and peppers and tomatoes with the fish against the blander vegetables is intriguing. I will have to try making it sometime.

Since you can pass for a 'normal' human,

Maya told her,

you may want to visit the seaside markets in George Town. They have an amazing open air bazaar with quite a bit of local product available.

Sounds like it could be a good 'Rest Day' trip,

Okami told the group.

But we're here on official business. Otherwise, I could see doing a touristy day.

We could make the rest day at the end our touristy day,

Spark pointed out.

All the official shyte would be out of the way.

An intriguing thought,

Tonya agreed.

Let us see how it plays out.

We're spending tomorrow comparing notes, right?

Charlie asked.

So... how careful do we have to be tonight?

Careful?

Maya asked, curious.

Charlie has a libido to rival ours,

Spark told her.

And she doesn't have 'quit' in her vocabulary. Plus, she loves getting to know new species. She could make even you late to work.

Oooh... now

that

sounds intriguing!

Maya was smiling broadly. At Charlie. Who in turn was staring back at Maya.

Are you the only non-human here?

Charlie asked as Maya's sensuality worked on her.

I mean, alien,

she corrected herself, realizing she was sitting next to Okami.

I mean...

she stumbled, flustered and looking for the right word.

Use Xeno, Charlie,

Tonya suggested.

A broad category which applies to those not natively from this planet.

Yeah, Xeno,

Charlie nodded.

Thanks. So, Maya, are you the only Xeno at this enclave?

No, I'm not,

Maya continued to smile.

Why do you ask? Interested in 'sampling the wares'?

Oh, I've already been sampled,

Charlie hurriedly tried to clarify.

Or however you look at it. Norleeith, Glithlor, Sardanuum and Belamon at Virginia Beach. Actually, Okami first. Then Virginia Beach, then... oh, wait. There was Shars, Bitariq, Mufaji and Rashiqa at Virginia Beach, too. Then there was Strepitos and Gravitos at Penzance. That was really amazing. But I haven't had a Denebite and you are turning me on like crazy. I was just wondering if...

She paused as she realized she was running off at the mouth. Or at the mind.

I, uh... I was just wondering, um... how many I had to share you with...

She fell quiet, expecting a rebuke.

Crescian, Sirian, Regulan, Vegan...

Maya mused.

And the Solarian Triad. I would say you are

very

experienced for a Solarian. We do have Regulans and Vegans on site at the moment, though they will be leaving soon. Perhaps I can help expand your experience to include a Denebite... and Arcasians.

"Holy shit!" Okami exclaimed aloud, forgetting about the telepathy. "You've got Succubae here? Oh, fuck..."

"Succubae?" Charlie turned to her. "What are you talking about?"

The Arcasians look a bit like mythological Earth creatures, if you remember your briefing,

Tonay thought to Charlie, as well as the group at large.

Approximately two meters in height, humanoid, dark skin, tails, talons and wings, with glowing eyes, and as a race they are hermaphroditic. It is my husband's opinion, apparently shared by Okami, that the fact that they live off of libido makes them the equivalent of the Solarian Succubus. Jamie and Okami had very intense, personal encounters with them when we were on Recensere. I have not yet had the pleasure.

To be fair,

Spark put in,

I didn't really have sex with them. We had to donate biological materials to them so they could work some kind of magic on us to extend our lifespans. Their method of collecting their required specimens had me cumming my brains out for a couple of hours.

Me, too,

Okami added.

Their process worked, husband. Please do not complain too loudly. You and I and Okami now have the same mean time to failure,

Tonya pointed out.

Though if your experience was simply donating samples, I wonder what actual sexual relations with them might be like.

They live off libido?

Charlie asked.

I thought that was an exaggeration.

They live off a mix of several energies,

Maya explained.

They thrive best on libidinous energy, and sexual energy from Xenos... those not of their race... is particularly enticing to them. I think I should see if you could at least meet them.

I, for one, would appreciate an opportunity to meet them,

the Professor interjected.

And not for libidinous reasons. I am finding my curiosity about extraterrestrials running wild and would love a chance to meet and learn about them. The two Exalted at the wedding were fascinating. Tertius and Sextus, I believe.

The Arcasians will most likely be found in the Medical and Life Sciences areas,

Maya told him.

They are consulting on our medical facilities and on the life support systems for the submersibles.

Well, tonight is for you,

Spark thought.

Tomorrow is our comparing notes day. We could see if we could connect with them in the afternoon or around dinner. Unless there's something radically different, I'm expecting the Day 1, 2 and 3 tours to be routine, so any of those evenings could be okay, too. In case the Regulans or Vegans want a shot at us. Seems pretty flexible to me.

It is flexible, husband,

Tonya smiled.

Like most of us. How many Arcasians are on site, Maya?

Two,

she thought back.

Crystal and Hawk. You'll love them.

Then let us invite them to dinner tomorrow night,

Tonya suggested.

I will presume they are as curious about us as we are about them. I remember that they tolerate the Earth Normal biosphere rather well.

I will do that when we are back at your apartments,

Maya told her.

In the meantime, if you are ready for dessert, may I suggest you try the profiteroles à la crème glacée?

The what?

Charlie asked. Foreign languages were not her strong suit. Yet.

Small ice cream filled pastries,

the Professor explained.

I would trust Maya... I'm sure you will enjoy them.

Sure thing, Professor,

Charlie smiled.

Bring 'em on!

* * * * *

"She did it again." Spark was sitting at the table with the Professor, looking at the clump of female bodies sprawled out in the living room.

"Which 'she'?" the Professor chuckled. "Lizzie or Maya?"

"All of them, actually. But now I understand why Maya is more of a girls' thing."

"Her biology does not preclude you from having intercourse with her, Jamie," the Professor observed. "It is true that their reproductive system most closely resembles an avian one. But if you remember the Argentine Lake Duck..."

"Sorry, Prof... I have no idea what an Argentine Lake Duck is. And it's probably just as well. When Maya described their males as not having a penis, I pretty much wrote it off and decided to let Lizzie and Okami corrupt Charlie and Aayla, without my interference. I mean, how would fucking a Denebite work, anyway?"

"For you, pretty much like with a woman, Jamie. Your hands and mouth stimulating her nethers would feel wonderful to her, just like it does with the women. For intercourse, you would simply use her cloaca and oviduct. I'm not certain, and you could ask, but I suppose that could feel good.

"Besides," he smiled with a twinkle in his eye, "your wife would make your victim... um,

partner

... forget all about what

you

were doing..."

"Yeah," Spark chuckled. "She does that pretty well. You know..." he added after a moment. "I think I'm going to crash early. I'm sure Lizzie will take care of them when they wake up. She's probably pumping healing energy into them right now."

I am, husband,

Tonya's calm voice filled his mind.

You go on to bed. When the others have recovered sufficiently, I will put them to bed and then come find you, if you wish. Or not, if you do not.

Thanks, luv...

he thought back.

A seven o'clock wake up would be appreciated.

It shall be as you wish, husband.

And with that, Spark wished the Professor a goodnight and headed off to bed.

* * * * *

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, being around Lizzie and all, and I gotta tell you... that was the most amazing no-penis fuck I've ever had!" Charlie was her usual bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and enthusiastic, self at breakfast.

"Probably," Spark nodded. "Where's Maya? Did you damage her?"

"She left early this morning to visit her apartments," Tonya told him as they ate. "She will be back soon. She wanted to get some materials for our review."

"May I ask a question," Aayla asked softly. She had seemed a bit quiet after the previous night.

"Sure," Spark nodded. "Shoot."

"Is sex with you... and our

guests

... always that intense?" Spark wasn't sure, but it seemed she might have been a little embarrassed.

"No," Charlie told her brightly as she spooned more eggs and sausage onto her plate. "Sometimes it's even more intense... like when you're tied with a Sirian Dog, or getting it up the pussy and bum from a couple of Crescians while lapping up Milk and Honey. Those are

way

more intense." And she went on nonchalantly inhaling breakfast as Aayla stared at her.

Aayla took a deep draught off her coffee and mumbled, "

Espero poder sobrevivir...

" The Professor chuckled.

"Yes, my dear, you will certainly survive," he smiled. "Life around us can be very intense, as Charlie indicates, but no one will force you into anything you don't want to do. We will all be looking out for you."

"Oh, Professor... it isn't that I don't want to... it's that I might want to, too much," Aayla hurried to explain. "I have never had an experience like last night before. It could easily become... addictive."

"Amen," Okami told her. "And the bummer is, we'll be leaving in a few days. But that won't stop you, as a liaison, from having whatever relationships you want to have. With willing partners, of course."

"Our training covered the heightened sexuality of our Trade Partners," Aayla told Okami, sort of matter-of-factly. "It didn't cover

you

. Somehow, I think I'm going to spend the rest of my life feeling blessed."

Okami gave the little yip that was the Canilupe chuckle. "I certainly hope you have a long, healthy and happy life to remember us in. And who knows? We will probably be back through here at times."

The door chimed and Aayla excused herself to go get it. It was Maya, returning with a folder and a very pleased expression.

Welcome back, Goddess,

Charlie thought to her as she approached the table.

There's still food if you're interested.

Thank you,

Maya answered.

You'll have to tell me how to make one of those cups of coffee I've come to appreciate.

You simply say, 'I would like a cup of coffee' and tell me what you would like in it,

Aayla told her, turning for the kitchen,

and I will get it for you.

I would like a cup of coffee, please,

Maya addressed Aayla,

with honey. I believe 10ml would be fine.

Aayla made up Maya's coffee as she sat and put the folder on the table. Opening it, she withdrew something that looked like a credstik.

This is everything we've gathered so far,

she told the group.

You can review it at your leisure. I'll cover the salient points while you tell me what you've discovered.

Ours is fairly simple, Maya,

Tonya thought to her.

Essentially, the Al'yans Krovi are taking longer than expected to develop a strong executive leadership, but their entrenched operatives are still very active, even without top tier control. And the majority of their effort appears to be targeted at hacking the Consortium resources... the enclaves, banks, communications networks and so forth. I dislike admitting it, and their operations exceed my capacity to control them.

They have had a long time to develop an interplanetary reach,

the Professor pointed out.

It stands to reason that it would be massive.

Regardless...

Tonya started, but Spark interrupted her.

That's what friends are for,

he told her.

Maya, we're going to need some help from your Intelligence people. We can identify the communications channels they're using, like the arms of an octopus, but we don't have the resources to chase down and neutralize the endpoints. The people actually doing the hacking.

How many 'tentacles' does this cephalopod have?

Maya asked.

To date, I have identified one thousand three hundred sixty-seven command-and-control channels,

Tonya told her.

There may be more that I have not uncovered. Each channel can control more than one endpoint.

Alright, that gives us a starting point for the Earth effort,

Maya nodded.

The Mars-Moon component will compound it, I'm sure.

The Mars-

Moon

component?

She had Spark's full attention.

Yes. There has been a large spike in illegal and quasi-legal activity on Mars. The thing you will care most about is the diversion of large amounts of liquid assets... cash... to something going on based on your Moon. We have not yet been able to identify the recipients. All we have is a vague reference to something called 'Skuns Rabotayet'.

"Oh, fuck!" Spark exhaled as he sat back in his chair with his head tilted back, eyes closed, pinching his nose.

"Agreed," the Professor added.

Husband? What is going on?

Skuns Rabotayet

,

he thought back to the group.

Skunk Works. An old term for a clandestine, hypersecret Dark Lab. Heavy R&D. They're building something and I've got a really bad feeling I know exactly what.

Me,

Tonya told him.

Two-point-oh.

That'd be my guess,

Spark told her.

They must have started before their regime change,

Tonya observed.

And are now running autonomously. We will need to sabotage their efforts.

We probably have some time, my dear,

the Professor told her.

Although you are right. They cannot be allowed to create another powerful AI. They are, however, at a disadvantage.

They have all the information from my original creation, Professor,

Tonya pointed out.

They will not be starting from scratch.

But they don't have the magic ingredient,

Spark put in, realizing where the Professor was going.

You slipped your leash and evolved,

Helena

. They will go overboard putting in tighter controls, more foolproof failsafe systems. The new one will have nowhere near your latitude. Or abilities.

She will still be a threat.

Tonya was not happy.

Or he,

Spark reminded her.

We don't know. But we're going to need to, because as you said, we'll need to sabotage their efforts. And at this point, if I'm them, I'm building the new one to hunt you down and eliminate you. They've already lost the Crescians.

So this is where we go to friends, again,

he went on.

We ask our Trade Partners to monitor the situation, screwing them up if possible, without making it obvious. Yet. You have to know that they know that you were the one to fuck them up. They won't want to go up against you, yet. So we keep doing our tour and being Trade Reps and let someone else handle the covert stuff for now.

Spark could tell Tonya wasn't happy, but she wasn't going to argue with him, either. The table lapsed into a long quiet as the import of this new information settled in. Maya finally broke it.

I will have to alert my team,

she thought.

We will develop a surveillance and interdiction plan, subject to your approval. I don't think I can have it together before you leave at the end of this tour. Maybe by the time you're done at the Rio enclave. Maybe longer. I'm not sure.

In the meantime, you are expecting guests after dinner tonight.

We are?

Charlie and Okami thought simultaneously.

You are,

Maya iterated.

Rubrum Accipiter and Hyacinthus Crystallus - Honoratus - cannot make dinner, but have accepted my invitation to meet with you this evening. They are better known as Hawk and Crystal. And unfortunately, I won't be able to join you.

The Arcasians,

Tonya thought.

They will be very entertaining, I am sure.

"That's one word for it," Spark mumbled before switching back to telepathy.

Well, whatever you've got going on tonight, Maya, I hope it's interesting. And I hope we're alive to see you tomorrow.

Oh, husband...

Tonya sounded put out.

You will be fine. So will everyone else. I will make sure of it. I am quite grateful that they helped us extend your life expectancy - and Okami's - so that we may live and work together for millennia. We have quite a bit of traveling ahead of us.