What Happens in Orbit

To her surprise, Ray later invited Cora to sit with him in the common area. He clearly wasn't comfortable forcing her into isolation. The tablet display projected onto a nearby desk.

"So these are your vitals in our system. There was a bit of a learning curve, because we had to convert the information from your medical file to our units."

"Where did you get my medical file?"

"The Internet," he replied pleasantly, as if that answered anything.

"Ah." Cora gave up on that. "So, how'd you do the conversions?" She was trapped here, at least she could be nosey.

Ray rambled on for a while, describing how he accidentally found that fluid ounces were nearly identical to their own unit of weight measurement. And then he said something that made Cora turn green.

"Of course, since there are a hundred and sixty of your fluid ounces to a pound, that means that- Cora? What's wrong?"

"Ray?" She started, her voice cracking.

"Yes?"

"You- who told you that?"

"Tha-"

"That there's a HUNDRED and SIXTY fluid ounces to a pound?"

Ray balked at this. "Oh. Um, The Internet?"

"Ray, please, please tell me that you haven't been using that number to figure out how much of that bullshit medicine to give me."

He shrank in his chair, squeaking a

yes

.

Cora rubbed her face, trying not to think too much. "Ray. There are

sixteen

fluid ounces to a pound. And that's a rough estimate because liquids can have different densities."

Shaking, Ray slowly tapped the display and removed a zero. Then he spoke into his tablet. His voice was barely a whisper. If he'd been human, he probably would have started to cry.

The door across from them slammed open. Mar stood there, his expression unreadable.

"Cora?"

She perked up.

"Could you return to your quarters, please? I need to speak with my

colleague

."

His voice was completely flat, with none of the reverberation their voices usually had. Obediently, she went.

The moment her door shut, the Officer placed a hand on the back of Ray's neck.

[You're going to message the Science Director. Now.]

[And what? Tell him I screwed up the dosage on our risky DNA-altering medicine? Yeah, sure.]

[No, you idiot. You need to make sure that you didn't completely wreck our mission. Ask what

would

happen.]

The message response from the Director was concerning, to put it mildly.

<Of course, I understand your curiosity. We have no idea how it affects humans, as you're their first contact. According to your data, they were already entirely compatible, making them like no other species recently contacted. The most compatibility we have is 85% on Mission 7. Unfortunately, I can't tell you more, because we lost contact with them a few days ago. All we know is that their first and only subject became incredibly hostile after a single accidental overdose. There were rapid changes in their DNA reported, as well as rejection of the monitor patches. I would wholeheartedly recommend being very precise in your dosages.>

Mar turned to the Scientist, about to ask a question. The Scientist hoarsely interrupted him.

[Thirty-four.]

[What?]

[She's had thirty-four doses intended for someone weighing ten times her weight.]

They both turned to look at her door, where Cora was very obviously peeking out. "Oh-" She slid the door shut. As it clicked, the alarm sounded.

<SUBJECT DATA NOT FOUND>

The Scientist had been hiding in his room for most of the week, likely having a breakdown. Mar tried to track down the Engineer, to warn him. He'd been hard to find lately, because he'd taken to hiding in the maintenance tunnels. While they didn't have explicit proof that Cora was going to become a problem, he still worried. The other missions had much larger crews. With more trained Officers. There's no way a single subject could have become dangerous enough to derail their mission. He stopped by her quarters, gingerly sliding the door open. She was laying on the bed, facing him.

"Is everything okay? I don't feel good and things seem really tense."

Against his better judgment, he closed the door behind him and sat with her. "Everything should be fine. What's wrong?"

"Me. I mean, I feel wrong. I don't feel sick, just like I have too much energy. And like my body is... the wrong size? Does that make sense? Oh, and I'm cold as fuck. You guys need to turn the A/C off."

He nodded, inspecting her features in the dim light. Something was indeed wrong. She seemed lethargic, but her limbs were faintly twitching. Her irises still glowed.

"We're still just worried that we may have given you too much of the medicine for too long. If you start feeling worse, just call for me or Ray, okay? You're fine, otherwise the monitor would let us know." This was a lie, as the monitor had been disconnected for several days now. He reached for her hand, trying not to flinch when he felt how hot it was.

Later, while in his quarters, Mar checked the camera feed one last time. Cora was awake, looking at something on her phone. He had to make sure that there would be food for her tomorrow. The kitchen was on the other side of Cora's room, where the food was passed through. He wasn't sure if she liked the meat patties he'd been cooking, but she didn't complain. That had to be a good sign. There were green apples and maybe there would even be hard-boiled eggs if he could figure out how to not overcook them. The gray color of the overcooked yolks made him nauseous. Over the hum of the cooler, he could hear small, human footsteps.

"Cora, did I wake you up?"

It was a bit too dark in the kitchen to see anything but her eyes.

That's... unsettling.

"No, I've been awake. I need your help."

He reached for a switch, but she reached up to stop him.

"What do you need?"

"If it's something that Ray told you not to do, will you tell him I asked?"

Oh.

"No. But you know we can't break the rules."

"I don't want to, I just-" she hesitated, embarrassed.

"What is it?"

Eyes finally adjusted to the dim light, he could see her chewing her lip. "I don't want to say it out loud."

He leaned closer, whispering. "You're safe, go ahead."

"I can't-" Her answer was just barely audible. "I can't make myself cum. And it's making it impossible to sleep." She leaned into him, hiding her face.

Just- just think about it like it's part of your job. It's a job. No reason to get excited about it.

It didn't even occur to him that he should worry.

"You need me to make you cum?"

Cora nodded, peeking up at him from his shirt. " I don't want you to feel like you have to or anything, I just-"

"It's fine. Keep quiet, okay?" He lifted her up onto the counter, surprised to find that she was already naked. Mar had thought about this more often than he'd like to admit. He brushed his fingers against her inner thigh. It was already soaked. "You were really struggling, weren't you?" She nodded, barely containing a gasp. Pressing them further in, he carefully watched her reaction. There was already a mess on the counter.

Not good.

Mar had a terrible idea.

"Cora. I know you prefer privacy. Do you want to do this in my quarters?"

She tilted her head. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"No. Not if we don't get caught. You'll still have to be quiet."

It became rapidly apparent that this was going to require all of his self-control. While Cora wasn't as outwardly desperate as before, she didn't need to be. The sight of her in his bed made him consider risking his entire career. She smiled up at him. "Don't worry, I won't let you get yourself in trouble." Then, slowly, she spread her legs.

He bit back a growl. "Your words and your actions are in complete disagreement right now."

"Just-" she took a shaky breath. "Just don't get me pregnant and you should be fine."

Mar pressed his fingers against her. "Putting my-" Distracted, he traced a circle around her opening. "Putting it inside of you shouldn't even be on the table."

She bucked against his hand. "I'm not trying to argue- I promise. I just- I just- It looks pretty uncomfortable where it is and I have a mouth..."

Oh, she means that.

He leaned down, still teasing her. "I know. Maybe I'll use it." He brushed his lips against her neck, causing her to shudder. She tilted her head back. "Do you guys- God, what a weird question. Fuck. Can you kiss me? Please?"

While it wasn't common on his home world, he still had a good idea of what she wanted. Gently, he pressed his lips to hers. What he didn't expect was for her to reciprocate with a barely tempered moan.

"Hush." Placing a hand over her mouth, Mar pushed a finger inside of her, then another. It didn't take long to have her convulsing. Cora was clearly doing her best to stay quiet, but failing miserably. She came, hard, leaving his hand drenched. "Oh," She whispered, trying to catch her breath. "Let me, let me help you." Sitting up, she reached for his belt.

They were interrupted by a loud, persistent beeping from the common area. To her credit, Cora immediately took off running. She was back in her quarters before Mar could even get his hands clean. Straightening himself up, he poked his head out. There was an incoming call from the Director's office. Ray stumbled into the room, still half-asleep. The minute he accepted the call, the Director appeared on the screen, already speaking.

[Please answer, please- Where is your subject right now?]

Ray looked over at his Officer, who pointed to her quarters. A fully dressed Cora was in the doorway, squinting out into the light.

[She's in her quarters, it's currently the night cycle for her.]

[I have some bad news. You may have to abort your mission. I give you permission to use force if your subject becomes hostile. The minute you start receiving error messages from its monitor patch, you need to put it in containment.]

[May I ask why?]

The Director looked down for a second, tapping at his desk. Three smaller video feeds appeared on the call screen.

[This is why.]

One feed showed a containment cell, a glass box about the size of Cora's room. The creature within was like a human, definitely the same size, but something terrible had happened to it. Its eyes were bloodshot and glowing. Its teeth were on the outside of its mouth, in sharp rows where its lips should have been. It was covered in this purple substance, with more dripping from its mouth. Ominous, it stood, staring at the only other creature on feed. There was one of their kind, too. He was a medium brown humanoid with longer ears, just like Tor's. He was missing an arm, its stump bandaged just above his elbow. He looked ragged, with more purple dripping from his nose and mouth, leaning on a massive firearm.

The second feed was of a common area like theirs, but much larger. It was littered with bodies. There was no sign of life, only flickering lights.

The third was much like the first, with a guard missing half an ear and several fingers. The creature in containment had four arms, a tail, and cat-like eyes. And the same teeth. It was snarling and lunging at the guard, who simply ignored it.

[The treatment was intended to make them biologically compatible. But the more compatible the subjects were before the treatment was administered, the more likely they are to just... become our females. We've lost eleven out of fifteen of our current missions. The second feed is Mission 7.]

The Director froze, looking behind Ray.

[I thought you said it was contained.]

"What happened?" Cora was standing by Mar, squinting up at the feeds. She quickly realized that the Director was staring at her and ducked behind him. "Crap. Sorry."

[We haven't had any issues with her being hostile. She is under constant surveillance.]

While they went back and forth, Mar translated for Cora. She looked down at her hands, then ran her tongue over her teeth. "That's horrible. I'm not- I don't feel dangerous."

He patted her head, trying to reassure her. "Your biology is different. I'm sure you're just fine."

The argument between the Director and the Scientist became heated. From what Cora was told, they could come back, but they had to wait in the planet's orbit until the planetary council came to a decision. There were a lot of things Cora didn't understand.

After the call ended, Ray turned to his Officer.

[Well, this is bad.]

Cora sat in one of the chairs, spinning in it. She was trying not to think about the question she needed to ask. "Ray, are you guys going to have to kill me?"

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I.. I don't know. I'm not sure if he told you, but most of the women on our planet are- were very hostile. We've been the butt of an evolutionary joke for as long as we've existed."

"Oh, like praying mantises!" Cora perked up, trying to make light of the situation. It couldn't be that bad.

"Praying mantises?" Ray looked them up on his tablet. His face fell. "Yeah. Exactly like that."

"Oh."

Shit.

Cora returned to her room. She laid in bed for a while, staring up at the ceiling. And then she realized that the ceiling was staring back at her, with two red eyes. She sat up, her throat dry. "He- hello?" A plate was missing from the ceiling, a faint sound of breathing coming from the shadowy square. The eyes blinked. Taking a deep breath, Cora realized there was a familiar smell. "Oh, stop lurking. Get down here." The Engineer's face appeared and he shook his head.

"You're in heat. I remember that smell."

He nodded.

"I thought you all used heat suppressants."

He dropped down, landing silently before her. He opened his mouth, only to close it again, his face turning a funny shade of orange.

Cora smiled encouragingly. "Go ahead."

"It's not working. They are not working." His voice was like what she'd heard in the decontamination chamber, like several people were speaking at once. He stayed crouched on the floor, looking up at her. "I think you did it."

"You think it's my fault that your heat suppressants aren't working?"

The Engineer nodded. He seemed afraid.

"I don't know how I'd have done that." When he didn't reply, Cora continued. "Do you want my help?"

With no warning, he leapt up into the ceiling. The plate dropped back into place.

"Huh." Cora tried to shake off her anxiety, deciding to head to the kitchen. Since Cora started living here, she'd switched to their schedule of having a small meal every two hours or so, with whatever was in the cooler. Today, someone had figured out how to cook rice and had mixed it with a canned vegetable medley. Bland, but certainly not bad. She scooped out a bowl and sat down at the counter to eat before returning to her room.

By the time Cora managed to fall asleep again, the lights were already back up. Mar woke her up sometime that evening, based on her phone's faithful attempts to keep the time. "Odd question, have you seen the Engineer?"

She paled. "Uh- why?"

"Because nobody's seen him for two cycles. Two days now. He's normally very social, so this isn't like him at all."

"I saw him a while ago." Cora was mostly honest. "But I don't want to embarrass him. He just came by to tell me something, then left."

"Embarrass?" Mar sighed, clearly short on patience. "Okay. Then you, please, go find him. The engines are stuttering and I don't know enough to diagnose it myself. We can't leave orbit until he's back." He left the room, then immediately returned. "Oh, also, try calling him Tor. He mentioned that to me last I saw him."

Cora looked up at the ceiling. The ladder led up to her weird bathroom, but if she did some careful climbing, she could get up there. Her first week here, she'd done something similar out of boredom, only to be shouted down by Ray. She scaled the ladder, gingerly using some protruding metal trim to get her to the ceiling. The plates moved easily, like the ceiling tiles in an office building.

Wait a minute, why am I doing this? I'm the damn guinea pig. I'm not even being paid.

Cora wondered if this entire mission would have gone better with her in charge. Shaking her head, she pushed herself into the ceiling.

It was pitch black, but sounded roomy. There was an electrical smell in the air, and ozone, but then a ribbon of something else hit her nose.

Oh, there

. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Cora began crawling. It seemed to be a wide maintenance tunnel. She tried to stand, hitting her head halfway through. Only about four feet tall, then. After a while, there were stairs, then the floor smoothed out and felt more solid. The scent got stronger, riding in on a gentle breeze from the left. Suddenly, there was no air, only scent. And it was too much.

Focus, focus.

A snarl echoed from the direction she was crawling in.

"What do you want?" The Engineer's words were garbled, a hopeless tangle of different octaves.

"They're looking for you. And don't get an attitude with me, you're the one not doing your job!"

Dim strips of light from a vent showed him moving towards her. His teeth were bared.

Shit.

"Tor, we need you. They can't leave orbit without-"

"All I can smell is you."

This caught Cora off guard. "What?"

He was only a few feet from her now. "I can't work. Because of you."

Cora didn't like his tone at all. "Bold talk coming from one of the guys that made me like this!"

"Don't act like you came to help me. I know what you want."

This was so unlike him. Cora had only been on the ship for maybe a month, but he'd never even come close to this kind of hostility.

"Why won't you let me help?"

He was barely a foot from her. "I won't control myself."

This wasn't good.

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise. Cora started to shift back.

Tor tensed up, and Cora could hear his feet pressing into the ground.

This set her off, and she moved without thinking. Adrenaline was flooding into every corner of her body as she slammed into him. He was lighter than she expected. Easily, she had him by his throat, pinning him down. "Have you lost your damn mind?" He went limp under her. "You won't control yourself?" His face was inches from hers.

Uh oh.

Something else was in charge now.

"Do you," she purred as she slid her free hand down his torso, "want my help or not?" When she released him, he immediately fumbled for his belt. Cora was naked before he'd even got the buckle undone.

Bad

. She got back on top of him.

This is bad.

She knelt on his legs, denying him any movement. His eyes darted between her face and her hips. The last sensible part of her was panicking.

Cora, this is bad

.

What are you doing?

It wasn't that she didn't want this to happen, she absolutely did. While she'd gotten used to her constant state of arousal, it still took control sometimes. Leaning back, she used a free hand to press the tip of his cock into her. He strained upwards, pushing against her legs.

Bad.

She paused, delighting in his rising desperation.

Bad-

The second Tor began to whine, Cora slammed her hips down.

It should have hurt. She hadn't had anything like this inside her, ever. But it didn't hurt.

"Oh, fuck."

She leaned forward, freeing his legs, and began to move her hips. This was not fast enough for the Engineer, who seized her and flipped their positions. He pinned her legs down, and began mercilessly drilling into her. Cora couldn't even catch her breath. Just the force and rhythm of him slamming into her was enough to bring her to orgasm.

Oh, fuck-

She felt herself getting delirious. His nails dug into her thighs, drawing blood. Tor began quietly swearing, words that Cora recognized. His pace became frantic, sending her sensible inner voice into a panicked frenzy.

Cora, Cora, you fucking idiot. He's about to cum in you and you're just lying there enjoying it, you fucking moron-

Burying his face in her neck, Tor tried to say something to her, but was overwhelmed. He slammed into her as deep as he could, eliciting a sharp whine. There was so much cum. Maybe too much. Not that Cora minded. Her voice of reason had given up and stormed off, leaving her in a haze. Tor collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily.