What Happens in Orbit

Maybe my mistake was blinking?

Now, Cora had every intention of getting on the bus. She'd left her cashier job, waited, and tried to get on the bus. But she certainly wasn't there now.

"What the Hell?"

It was a white room, maybe the size of a gas station bathroom. Definitely not the bus. At some point, she'd blinked, and in that span of time...

There was no way to rationalize this. Cora tried to talk herself through what happened as panic rose in her chest.

"I was at the bus station. The bus pulled up." She began pacing the white room, racking her brain. "And then I-"

A loud humming interrupted her. "Oh! Hi- hello Miss Human!"

Cora froze, mid-pace.

"I'm- I am-" There was a long pause. "We're-" It kept pausing, like it was cutting out. Or the speaker was nervous. The voice was coming from some kind of PA system, Cora reasoned. She waited for the voice to continue. It sounded layered, as if multiple people were speaking at once. "I'm sure you're very excited, sorry, nervous? But we're just here to learn more about your kind!"

Oh.

"Seriously?" Cora had figured it out, maybe. "Like... aliens?"

"Oh!" There was a furious rustling, accompanied by static. "A- Yes, that is correct! If you- you'll just step to the front of you, there will be a rain- oh, no- shower! That is the," There's another pause, with what sounded like a cough. "Decontamination process."

Cora didn't want to think about this too much.

Mom always warned me to lay off the energy drinks.

A cold, drenching, miserable downpour hit Cora out of the blue. Like someone had dumped a massive bucket of water on her head. She gasped, immediately inhaling some of the water. Choking ensued. It was in her eyes, in her ears. All she could do was flounder. A pair of hands seized her, and the water was wiped out of her face with a soft cloth. Everything was blurry, but there was something tall in front of her. She rubbed her eyes, blinking. There were three tall creatures in front of her. Much taller than any human. They all had four arms. One of them, slightly shorter than the others, seemed to be angry at the other two. Then it turned back to her. With the same soft, layered voice she'd heard before, he apologized to her. "I'm sorry, Miss. This officer should have waited before he started the decontamination process." He cast another sharp glance at the humanoid (officer?) on his right, who huffed and walked away. The one on the left continued patting Cora dry. Her panic subsided.

Everyone here seemed kind enough. She looked down at the hands of the one drying her. His, as she assumed they were all male. They all seemed to act like human men and were shaped the same way. His hands were the same color as the rest of him, a kind of soft brown color. Like a rabbit? Cora reached out to brush a single finger against his hand. He stiffened for a moment, then continued. It felt different than human skin somehow, and very warm. She risked a peek up at his face as he patted the towel against her hopelessly soaked sweater. His eyes were green, almost catlike.

This must be what rescue animals feel like.

The one drying her off sighed gently and began peeling her sweater off. Cora froze and looked around for the one that had spoken to her earlier. He wasn't around. There was no point in resisting. Cora raised her arms, letting him take it off. Immediately, his fingers dipped under the waistband on her jeans. His very warm fingers. She uttered a soft

oh

, causing him to pull back.

God, that was embarrassing.

"Sorry," she apologized before reaching down to unbutton them herself. The cold, wet fabric clung to her skin, and required peeling off. He had stopped trying to help her and was now looking away. All that was left was her underwear.

Am I supposed to take these off, too?

Cora wondered how similar these guys were to human men.

Well, time to find out.

She certainly wasn't staying in a wet bra. Quickly, she removed both. He reached out, took them, and took off running.

Huh.

"Oh-" The other, shorter one had reappeared. By the time Cora looked up at him, he was looking away, holding out what looked to be a set of flannel pajamas. She took them and started getting dressed. "So-" Cora was going to ask what she was doing there, but that seemed rude. "Do you have a name?" He paused, thinking. "Well... Our names don't really translate to English. But I picked a name that you can use. And you can call the other two by their job names. The one that was drying you off is the Engineer and the one who tried to drown you is the Officer. You can call me Ray."

Cora frowned. "What's your job?"

"I'm not sure what you would call it." He sighed. "On my planet, we have a program dedicated to intergalactic exploration, and each member of my division is assigned a specific species to become familiar with."

Hmm.

"So, like a scientist?" He shrugged and nodded. 'Eh, close enough' must be a universal thing. Realizing she was fully dressed again, he turned to face her. He was lighter than the Engineer, a taupe color. His eyes were a soft pink. "What are you guys gonna- going to do with me?" Ray pursed his lips. "We're just going to hold you for a few days, orbit your planet, and just do some non-invasive studying." Cora was no expert in whatever these guys were, but they were close enough to humans that she could tell he was lying.

After what was definitely several hours, Cora now had her own room. They'd recovered her purse from the decontamination room and her phone. Thankfully, it was in a waterproof case. She had no internet up here in orbit, but she had her ebooks and her games. Her room was the size of a small bedroom, with most of it taken up by a round bed. There was what was definitely a camera on the ceiling opposite her. In another corner was a monitor with a recess below it. The Scientist said it synthesized food, but the banana that dropped out of it to demonstrate still had its Chiquita sticker on it. Cora did not say anything about this. The exit was a sliding door that didn't seem to have a lock. Just as she was about to test this, the Engineer entered. In one hand he held a tablet, in another he held a small box, and in one more he held a folded mink blanket. Cora recognized it as the kind from the tourist trap gift shops. She also felt a faint pang of jealousy. Four arms seemed so convenient. He set the blanket on the bed and patted it, inviting her to sit. She did. Sitting behind her, he gathered her hair away from her neck before wiping it with something cold. He stopped and she heard tapping. When he sat the tablet in her lap, it read

<THIS PATCH IS TO MONITOR YOUR VITALS. WE'RE GOING TO RUN SOME TESTS. IT SHOULD NOT HURT. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF IT DOES. YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE SOME MEDICINE. IT SHOULD NOT TASTE BAD. SORRY IF IT DOES. ALSO IF YOU EVER GET HUNGRY JUST TELL US. WE HAVE A LOT OF FOOD.>

The interface looked like a translation app. While the Engineer placed the patch, she tried gently tapping the words in English. Sure enough, a cursor appeared, along with a keyboard. The layout was all wrong, with the keys in alphabetical order, but Cora was still able to type out a message. The unfamiliar script at the top changed as she typed.

<THANK YOU FOR BEING SO KIND.>

As the Engineer stood, she handed him the tablet. He stopped, surprised, but then smiled at her. Then, he stood and left.

It was a while before anyone entered again. Cora looked up from her phone, expecting Ray. Instead, it was the Officer. He wore the same uniform as the others, with a different insignia on the shoulder. His belt had a lot of pouches, which he dug through, but Cora found her eyes wandering. Their uniforms were close-fitting and thin, which left little to the imagination. There was another thing they had in common with men. As she realized this, she quickly looked away. "Ah," the Officer said, before pulling out a much smaller tablet. It was about the size of her phone. He typed something on it before turning to the monitor. The opening below it hissed, and produced what was definitely a medicine syringe, the kind used for babies. It was larger than usual, with no markings. The liquid in it was a bronze color that shimmered slightly. The Officer turned to her and placed one hand under her jaw. His thumb pressed into the side of her face, as if he was asking her to open her mouth. His eyes were a pastel orange color, and stared intently into hers. Cora saw no point in being difficult, so she opened her mouth slightly. The syringe was very cold and felt like glass as he placed the end of it against her tongue. His eyes narrowed and his thumb lightly stroked the side of her face. She took this as a cue to close her lips around the syringe. His gaze darted between her mouth and her eyes. The medicine was very cold and tasted like caramel. There was no point in worrying whether it was dangerous or not. She was already trapped on an alien ship. After she swallowed the last of the medicine, the Officer removed the syringe and stuck it in a pocket. But his gaze didn't leave her face, nor did his expression change. His thumb brushed against her lower lip. "Good little human." His voice was deep, hushed, but layered just like the scientist's. It may have just been the medicine, but this gave Cora an odd tingling in her chest. Then, just like the Engineer, he quickly left.

After a few minutes, Cora realized the Officer had left the smaller tablet on top of the monitor. It was just in reach.

<THIS IS FOR YOU. DON'T LET ANYONE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THIS.>

Huh. That was nice of him.

The feeling in her chest didn't go away.

The bright overhead lights dimmed to complete darkness and clusters of smaller lights in the walls came on. It made her feel sleepy. After learning that the only button on the side turned the tablet on and off again, Cora tucked it into her purse under her bed, and crawled under the blanket. This wasn't that bad. It was warm, and the round bed was some kind of firm, foamy material. She found herself falling asleep, fast.

The dreams were intense. Cora woke up, heart racing, unable to remember them. She didn't feel right. Her blood felt hot, she was incredibly dizzy, but worst of all, she was violently horny.

Damn that camera

. Cora hated feeling watched. Since she couldn't do anything about it, she walked over to the monitor. It had dropped a strawberry nutrition shake and two apples.

Okay.

She ate her breakfast and sat on her bed, facing the door. The scientist, Ray, came in a few seconds later. "Good morning Miss Cora! How are you feeling?" He clutched his tablet to his chest, seemingly expectant. "I'm, uh, feeling okay? These drinks usually make me nauseous but that goes away after a few minutes." He frowned. Clearly that wasn't what he wanted to hear. Perking up, he turned to the monitor. It gave him an angry-sounding tone and displayed a red popup. Ray scoffed, and typed something below it. Immediately, it produced another syringe of the bronze liquid. "Time for your next dose!" Cora made a face. "What exactly does that stuff do?" The scientist turned away from her for a moment. "It, hm, is to prevent you from catching anything that we might have!"

That still sounds like bullshit.

Cora found herself wishing the Officer was giving her this dose, as Ray accidentally clinked the syringe against her teeth in his hurry. The caramel flavor was stronger this time. He was avoiding her gaze as he took the empty syringe and left.

It had been a few hours and the arousal still hadn't subsided. Cora hated feeling like this. She couldn't do a thing about the constant dampness or the needy pulse inside her. Suddenly, there was a quiet

beep-beep

. It was the tablet. Keeping her back to the camera, Cora pulled it out to find that it displayed a notification. She took a picture on her phone, and used the picture to type in the notification into the translator.

<REPRODUCTION SUBJECT 100% COMPATIBLE>

Cora heard running outside her door and quickly put the tablet and her phone away. Just as she threw herself onto her bed, Ray burst in, with the Officer behind him. "Hello!" He had the same expectant look on his face. Cora kept her expression blank. "Hi?" The scientist looked around her room, clearly disappointed. He turned to say something to the Officer and stalked out of the room. The Officer slid the door shut behind him and shook his head. Cora sat on her knees on the bed, looking up at him. "Can you tell me what's going on?" He paused, thoughtful, before stepping closer. He tapped at the monitor, getting the same popup, then receiving another syringe. "I can." He stepped closer, moving as if to sit on the bed. Cora scooted back, giving him space. "I can tell you a little." He held up the syringe and Cora opened her mouth in response. While he gave her the medicine, he spoke. "We are having a crisis on my home planet. Due to... conditions, our planet's birth rate is down to almost zero. We have been sent to find biologically compatible species. Ray is waiting for you to present the signs of being ready to... copulate, as he's seen in the Earth media."

Oh, no.

"What- what kind of media?" Cora spoke around the syringe. The Officer stifled a laugh. "It's, ah, videos of humans participating in, well, sex."

Cora nearly choked at the realization. "You mean porn?" He nodded. "Oh no. He thinks that's how humans do that? I mean," Cora turned slightly red. "Humans sometimes do the stuff you see on there, but humans in real life don't act like they do. Have you, uh, has anyone besides him watched that kind of thing?" He looked away. "Yes."

This explains a lot.

"He's waiting for the medicine to take its true effect. It's intended to facilitate your behavior as a potential... partner." He was completely avoiding her gaze at this point. Cora felt a twinge of irritation. "So you're telling me, that he could take the time to watch porn, learn our languages, come all the way here,

lie to me,

but couldn't do the least bit of research to learn our,"

God, what's it called?

"Courting rituals?" The Officer shrugged. "Only him. I did my own research." He sighed. "But he thinks that his knowledge is superior because he was assigned to learn it. That's why, even though I learned your language, I don't speak it around him. He's..."

"Obnoxious?" Cora offered.

"Yes. But don't misunderstand the situation. When you do present those symptoms, we have to take you to our home planet. Nobody on this ship will have you." He turned to meet her gaze, but immediately looked away, up at the camera. "Oh, also. In case you were wondering, I am the only one that watches the feed from this." At that, he stood and left.

When she woke up from a short nap, Cora felt incredibly violent. Well, no, that wasn't it. Was it? She wanted to scream. Her pulse was so fucking loud. Every time her pussy grazed against her thigh, it set off a shuddering need, clear up to her throat. She was tense and miserable.

Fuck, I hate this

. She got a dented, lukewarm bottle of Aquafina from the monitor. It did not help. At one point, Ray peeked his head into her room, and immediately left. Cora could hear him shouting. After a handful of minutes, the Officer and the Engineer came in. They were speaking to each other in their language. To Cora, it sounded as if Morse code required singing.

[He wants to give her another dose. But look at her levels.]

[I know. But you know we can't argue with him.]

They turned to look at Cora. She was shivering slightly, waiting for one of them to speak to her.

[She's going to go insane. I don't know how those foreign hormone levels haven't killed her.]

[Just go ahead and do the override.]

To get the syringe from the monitor, the Engineer had to plug a small device into it. After he typed something, the Officer had to pass three red popups. Cora had a sinking feeling in her chest. "Here, little human. Just one more." She obediently took the syringe. It tasted burnt and hit like a shot of espresso. That is, if espresso was a brutal aphrodisiac. Cora whimpered. She couldn't take much more of this. She sat back in her bed, shivering harder now. He stroked her hair. "I know." After a pause, the Engineer spoke.

[Hey. I know this is gonna sound insane right now, but do you remember the mouth thing?]

[The mouth thing?]

[Yeah. That weird human thing where they put their-]

[I remember.]

[Do you think that would help her?]

The Officer was only half listening now. He ran his thumb across Cora's lower lip, trepidation in his eyes. How could he not remember? She had such a pretty, small mouth. No extra teeth or sharp fangs like their females. Completely out of sorts, Cora opened her mouth.

Her vision had gone slightly fuzzy, but Cora was aware of the thumb resting on her lip. Everything was so sensitive, even her mouth. She swore could feel every nerve firing off in her teeth. When the Officer pushed his thumb against her tongue, she couldn't help but moan. She wrapped her lips around it and realized that she desperately wanted something else. Cora looked past his hand and realized another hand was holding what was most definitely a cock. It looked a bit different, but it was in the right place. It was a bit darker than the rest of him, and it was hard and smelled

so

good. There was no self control left in her body. She whined. "Please, can I-" The Officer rested a knee on the bed, bringing it closer, and before she could finish her sentence, Cora already had her mouth around it. He hissed in response, nearly falling over. There was no way she was getting further than halfway down it. She definitely tried. According to the subsiding tension in her chest, this was exactly what she needed. As she worked her hands and mouth on the Officer, the Engineer sat behind her and gently slipped a hand between her legs. His fingers came back slick.

[She already smells like straight heat. I know for a fact humans don't even have heat cycles. How did we fuck up this badly?]

[I don't know- but don't- fuck, don't get any ideas]

The Officer was barely able to speak straight, much less stay standing. Two of his hands were buried in her hair. Cora could feel that he was about to cum, and doubled her efforts. He hissed what was definitely an expletive, and slammed his cock in as deep as he could. Cora didn't mind this at all. She had cum dripping down her face when he was finally finished. Before he could say anything, she wiped her face with her fingers and licked it off. It was taking everything in the Engineer to control himself. The Officer nearly collapsed, but straightened up when he heard a beep. As he left the room, he turned to the Engineer.

[I'll go keep him busy. You help her.]

The Engineer was still seated behind Cora, completely unprepared for when she turned and tackled him. He hadn't even undone his pants yet. She was in no shape to figure it out. His hands were shaking and he could barely focus on undoing the clasp, because she had her tongue pressed against the already apparent bulge. "Please!" She whimpered, just as he pulled it out. She immediately went at it, moaning around him. Her face was a complete mess but there was no sign that she cared. He sat up, reaching over to shakily finger her. Cora groaned and pressed into his hand, not slowing down at all. He could feel her twitching around his fingers, the warmth rivaling his own. Cora immediately flipped onto her back, pulled her pants off, and spread her legs in one swift motion. "Do it, do it, do it please!" She reached down and spread her lips, exposing the swollen, needy mess she'd become. That was almost too much for the Engineer, who groaned at the idea. No, he couldn't. He tore his eyes away from it and back up to her face, grabbed her by her hair, and forced his way back into her mouth. Cora didn't mind this, still gleefully moaning as he fucked her throat. He came quickly, holding Cora down until he'd finished. She flopped over onto the bed, giggling deliriously. The Officer stepped back in as the Engineer cleaned himself up.