This is the story of the spaceship 'Starflyer', its journey to another star, and the effects of the interstellar jump on both crew and passengers. The story contains promiscuous sex, both vaginal and oral, and our protagonist has sex with women of different race, age and body size. There are also elements of group sex and of some fetish aspects including a case of foot sucking and an incident with pee. If these things repel you, please read another story.
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I look out the window, into space. I must admit that the shuttle launch was stressful, although Space-X has never lost one of their new shuttles. But the noise, the acceleration, and the knowledge that we were riding a semi-controlled explosion up through the atmosphere all contributed to my tension. Now I finally relax, strapped into my seat, looking into space and at the Earth passing rapidly below us. I lose track of how long I have been sitting here, but it must have been hours, for now the pilot interrupts my thoughts.
"We are approaching our destination. In a few minutes, I will burn the main engine for a short moment, to match velocity with the Starflyer. Then there will be some maneuvering to dock with the Starflyer. During our approach, the Starflyer will become visible through the windows on both sides, starting with the left side. Enjoy the view."
A few moments later, the engine roars and we regain weight for a short while. Then there it is! The Starflyer, which will bring me to Kappa Cygnis. It is perfectly spherical, as required by the physics of the Jump, a part from a ring of eight retractable fusion engines.
As I look at it, I cannot help thinking of the Jump. It scares me. My engineering background gives me a decent knowledge of Jump Physics, although I do not grasp the details. But I understand enough to be scared. I guess everybody are worrying about the Jump, but the rest are probably mainly worried about the social aspects of it. That worries me too, of course. But the Jump itself, dropping out of space-time, that scares me. Which is silly, I know. Jumping is even safer than flying.
I push these unpleasant thoughts away, and focus on the view. Soon we are so close that I can clearly see a dark belt around the "equator" of the ship. I must be the windows in the observation lounge encircling the ship. Soon after, we are docking with the Starflyer.
We are all led into the spaceship through a connection pipe, and then proceed to the passenger cabins under the guidance of a few crew members. Zero-gravity handles are mounted in what becomes the ceiling once we are under way, and we all reach our cabins without incidents. I try a zero-g somersault, but there is hardly space for it in my cabin. So I lie on the bed, and fasten the two straps that will prevent me from flying away. All passengers are confined to the cabins until departure, for safety reasons. Fortunately, the last shuttle will dock in less than an hour, and soon after we will depart.
I must have dozed off, and am woken up by an announcement.
"This is first officer Simon Hague. On behalf of captain Susan Corwin and all the crew, welcome on board the Starflyer. If you are not already strapped in on your bunk, please do so now. In five minutes we will depart, the computer will not let me turn on the engines if there are people floating in the cabins. Thank you!"
Five minutes later, we depart. The engine of the shuttle had roared deafeningly. In contrast, the eight fusion engines of the Starflyer emit a hardly audible hum as they power up. But during a half minute or so, I can feel my normal weight return gradually. Then the first officer speaks again.
"Our engines are now operating at an acceleration of one standard gravity. You are free to leave your cabins and move around on the ship. I recommend section three of the Observation Lounge, if you are quick you can get a last view of the Earth as we break orbit.
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During the first few days, we settle into a daily routine. Most passengers spend their time in the spacious observation lounge, playing games, reading, or just looking into the emptiness of space. The mess hall is also popular, even between meals. Sometimes a few off-duty crew members join us. They are easily recognizable by their Star Trek-like yellowish uniforms. Their rank and area of responsibility is indicated by the colored armbands that they wear on their upper arms. The captain wears red, the first officer orange. Pilots have yellow armbands, engineers blue, etc.
Then on the third day, the mood is getting tense. We all know that we are approaching the first Jump, but it is as if the topic is taboo, no-one talks about it, and all conversation becomes a bit strained. I sit in the lounge, staring into the blackness of space, thinking about nothing in particular.
My lack of thoughts are interrupted by an announcement.
"This is the captain. The jump prognosis is still unaltered, we are approaching a stable jump point, and expect to jump in approximately two hours. Final jump decision will be made approximately one hour before jumping."
Silence falls, it is as if all conversations stop. When people resume talking their voices are low and subdued. I resume staring into space. An hour later, capt. Corwin speaks again.
"This is the formal jump announcement. The decision to jump is now final, and we will jump in one hour and two minutes. All passengers and crew members, please proceed immediately to your cabins and prepare for jump. I repeat, all passengers ..."
We all rise in silence, and walk to our cabins, avoiding eye contact.
In the cabin, I remove my clothes. Shirt and trousers are folded, and placed on the bed, as they are synthetics. But my underwear is cotton, and I place it in the mini-pod with my other cotton clothes, to protect them from the Jump. My thoughts unavoidably turn to the Jump.
We are still within the orbit of Mars, but in less than an hour the Starflyer will vanish and instantly reappear a few light years away. Seen from the outside, no time will pass between when we vanish and reappear. Inside the ship, it is more complicated. For a moment, we will pass outside both space and time (if "a moment" makes any sense when time does not exist). Unfortunately, life cannot exist outside time, so when this happens all bacteria, virus and half-dead skin cells in my underwear will be destroyed. The mini-pod will protect the organic fibers from being damaged by the jump (cotton is particularly vulnerable), but only a full pod can preserve life.
I walk into the shower, and wash thoroughly. Then I dry myself, and sit down on my bed, watching the countdown and pod assignment on the screen. I am assigned to pod 27 (bottom). After a few minutes, I gather my courage, get up, and go to the door. I hesitate at the door, my subconscious shouting that I forgot something important: my clothes. Then I open the cabin door, and walk naked into the corridor. Naked men and women appear from other cabins, and we walk towards the Pod Hall keeping our eyes to ourselves.
