Space Force

The secrecy behind the mission code name ‘Argos’ drove me crazy. On a bus with fourteen other scientists to avoid radar detection made no sense to me. With the air conditioner barely able to keep up, we were fifteen scientists who were starting to smell. Was this what I signed up for?

I had joined the Space Force about a year and a half ago after working on Project Phallus as a civilian. I’m an astrophysicist with a specialty in interplanetary propulsion systems. I don’t talk about it much because, frankly, no one has any idea what I’m talking about. With the promise of being a member of the expedition to Barnard’s Star, I joined up. I’d done my basic training, as had the other members of this group, and now we were going to train with our ‘partners.’

The drive to the secret training grounds in the western region of Texas took eight hours, and in the heat of the day, the bus stopped in front of an adobe shack that didn’t look strong enough to survive the next sand storm. We were told politely to ‘get the hell off the bus’ and to wait in front of the dilapidated structure.

As the bus drove off, Skip Hanley expressed the sentiment each of us was feeling. “Where the fucking hell are we?”

I spoke up. “It’s Texas at the start of the offseason. Just wait until it starts to get hot.”

“It’s gotta be over a hundred,” complained someone from the back.

I walked over to a mesquite tree and hoped for a breeze. I had expected some hot weather survival training, but I didn’t expect it to start as soon as we got off the bus. I heard a noise in the distance. A convoy truck with soldiers in the back pulled up in front of us. A woman emerged from the cab; the driver stayed inside. From the back, fifteen soldiers, a mix of men and women, emerged. Each carried two large duffle bags. The soldiers formed a straight line next to the truck.

“Gentleman, I am Officer Tamara Sinclair, O-5.”

Sadly, the government had not designated a ranking system for the Space Force. Legislators were still arguing about the names for each rank, so we were stuck with calling ourselves ‘Officer’ or ‘Enlisted’ followed by our last name, and then our rank number. I couldn’t wait to hear what a mess of names and ranks I was about to hear next.

“Each of the officers has been assigned an enlisted partner with whom you will train and eventually travel into space. As I call your names, please step forward and get acquainted with your partner.” Officer Sinclair didn’t waste any time. Thank goodness. The heat could kill.

“Dr. Skip Hanley, O-3, meet Enlisted Sheila Drake, E-4.” Skip stepped forward, and a woman of about 5’ 6” stepped out. She handled the duffle bags like a pro. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like Skip popped a boner.

“Officer Kira Henson, O-3, meet Enlisted Amanda Sanchez, E-4.”

“Officer Gregg Johns, O-3, meet Enlisted Cameron Timmons, E-4.”

“Dr. Jason Kilgore, O-4, meet Enlisted Jake Hunter, E-4.”

That was me. I stepped forward, and…

Let me just say that I was hoping for a partner who was smart, able to follow directions, at least as strong as I am, and most of all, not a distraction. After all, we would be working together for, at minimum, five years. That’s not what I got.

Jake Hunter was a Greek god sent down from his constellation. At six-two, we were matched in height. That’s where our similarities ended. He was blond, muscular, 190 pounds of muscle. He wasn’t ripped. Every muscle was strong and had a purpose, he wasn’t just for show. His blue eyes studied me. His stoic demeanor did not let me know what he was thinking.

He moved those duffel bags as though they were empty. He switched them to his left hand and held out his right.

“Dr. Kilgore.” His voice was perfect, too, A rich soothing tenor tone that made my dick twitch.

I shook his hand. “Mr. Hunter. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He nodded. Using his last name only was a trick I’d learned. The enlisted guys hated to be called enlisted each time someone addressed them. They had taken to the Star Trek world’s way of calling people ‘Mister.’

We walked to the side. “Is one of those bags mine, or are our supplies distributed for weight?”

“I separated them by weight, sir.”

“You can call me Jason.” His furtive glance meant that I’d hit a nerve. “Of course, when it’s not just the two of us, we should follow protocol. Remember that we’re partners, so when it’s just us, Jason will work fine; it’s my name, after all.” I smiled at him.

“And, of course, you can call me Jake.”

I looked back up at him. His beautiful blue eyes were looking at me again, studying me. If a guy in a gay bar were looking at me like that, I’d want to take him home. My dick was rock hard, and I needed to adjust it, but this was not the place. Was I about to spend the next five years of my life with a perpetual erection?

After the introductions, seven pairs of partners got in one truck, and we left the others behind. We drove for another four hours; we were told not to speak at all. Finally, the truck dropped us off in a clearing. We were given instructions to speak only with our partners.

Jake cleared a place for us to sit. He checked it for snakes and other creatures. We sat, and I turned to Jake. “I have a feeling they’re going to wait until it’s dark to tell us to walk back to camp.”

“I think you’re spot on, Jason. Have you kept track of directions?”

“I tried. Ahead of us is east. I lay odds on that.”

“Agreed.”

“I sensed that we came from the north-east, maybe a little more east of north-east.”

“My man, you are on top of things. I agree again.”

“Now, I wonder whether you think we should start back in the dark, or whether we should get some sleep. Honestly, it’s about eight right now, and I’ve been up since four, so I probably have about three hours of walking with the duffle bag before I run out of juice.”

“Yeah, got up at five, and I slept on the ground, so I’m probably going to run out of steam pretty fast as well. I happen to know there’s no food in the duffles. Just about two liters of water for each of us.”

“Rest first or hike first. You’re the one with more expertise in this area, right? I’ve only done basic training.”

“I’ve had four weeks of survival. I say rest first.”

“Fucking idiot!” I exclaimed.

Several people from the group looked at us.

Jake looked shocked then pissed.

“Not you, me.” I lowered my voice. “There’s a gibbous moon tonight.”

“Sweet, then after a bit of a rest, we can test things out. We might be able to see well enough to make it back while it’s still cooler. Can you sleep with just a blanket?”

“Been a while, but I’m pretty tired.”

“My brother and I used to do this thing where we slept on our side and used the other brother’s leg for a pillow. Ever do anything like that?”

“Yeah, I did that with my last boyfriend in front of the fireplace when the electricity was out. It was a family reunion, and all the little kids had the blankets, and his dad didn’t want us spooning in the living room.”

Shit. I just told him I was gay before I got to know him better.

He got up without saying anything, looked in the bag, and got a blanket out. “There should be one in that bag, too.”

I pulled a blanket out and noticed that people were still looking at me. Some of the enlisted had nasty looks on their faces. “Hey, I was calling myself an idiot, not him.”

Jake joined in. “That’s right. He told me that he’s a fucking idiot. He also told me he has shit for brains.” Several people laughed. “Who am I to argue. I don’t know him that well, but from what I’ve seen, he’s right.” More laughter.

Jake spread his blanket, and we arranged ourselves on it before spreading the second blanket over. I wiggle around a little to get comfortable. “Is my pillow too firm for you?”

I heard a chuckle as he said it. “Yeah, my boyfriend’s leg was a tad softer.”

“Be happy with what you have. I’m sleeping on a marshmallow covered stick.”

I looked over at him, and he smiled. Our friendship had started.

My pillow began to jerk around. “Get up.” I opened my eyes, and Jake was staring down at me. “Get your ass up, Kilgore. We’re wasting moonlight.” He grabbed my jaw and shook it slightly.

I sat up. It looked as though most of the group had decided to rest first. Jake put his fingers to his lips. I stood up slowly and folded the blanket. I slid it into the bag.

“Take a sip of water, but just a bit, hold it in your mouth and slowly swallow it. Can you pick up that bag without noise?”

I nodded, did what he said, and picked up the bag. He was quietly leaving the area. The moon was bright enough that we didn’t need flashlights or night goggles. When we were about twenty yards away. I moved the strap to the other side of my neck. Jake appeared to study the ground as we moved slowly away from our sleeping area. I needed to piss, but I didn’t want to slow us up. I continued to follow for another thirty to forty minutes without a sound when I whispered at him to wait up.

“What is it?”

“I need to pee.”

“You need my help?”

“Sure. You can either hold the bag to the side or you can point my peck once I get unzipped.”

“You’d like that.”

“I’m sure I would, but we don’t have time for all the fun that would ensue.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“Hold the bag out of the way so I can get my hand there.” I unzipped, pissed a bucket, and zipped back up. “Of all the silliness. Talking about playing with my dick while my bladder is about to bust.”

“I’m not the one who was talking about holding your dick.”

“Well, you’re not the first guy to talk about playing with my dick.”

“What?” whispered Jake. Teasing him was kind of fun.

“What the fuck are you talking about? I didn’t say I wanted to play with your dick. Fuck, man.”

“Interesting how we go from playing with my dick to your using the word fuck.”

Jake stopped and shoved a finger in my face. That’s when he noticed that I was smiling. I wanted to start laughing.

“Jake, bro, you’re too easy.”

I saw him shake his head. “Let’s go.”

About an hour later, he stopped and offered me another sip of water. I wanted to tell him how my feet hurt. I wasn’t wearing hiking boots because no one told us we would be going on a hike. In real life, I wouldn’t be walking this far without getting dressed for it. But I wasn’t going to complain about achy feet if Jake wasn’t going to complain.

“Jason, are you doing OK?”

“I’m getting a little hungry. If you see a Denny’s, let’s stop. An IHOP would be even better. I’ll even pay.”

“You’re doing great. When we were told that we were being paired with an officer, I really expected some arrogant douchebag that I’d have to pull along or maybe even carry.”

“I surprised you, huh.”

“Yeah, you ain’t arrogant at all.”

“Ha. I should have seen that one. I’m off my game,” I took a shallow breath. I was running out of juice.

Jake stepped toward me. He put a hand on my shoulder. “Take another sip. It’ll help with the hunger.”

I took a second sip. You take one, too. He didn’t answer. I’ll feel better if you did. In the moonlight, I saw him lift the bottle to his lips. Even in the moonlight, he was handsome. I was grateful that he had been assigned to me.

“Are you ready to start again?”

“The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get some real rest.”

“They probably have concrete slabs for us to use as beds.”

“You think they plan to torture us?” I asked him. “You’re joking, right?”

“Yeah, but I doubt they’ve got us sleep number beds.”

“Well, you can always use my marshmallow-on-a-stick.”

Jake chuckled a little. “Hey, this next part is on the dark side. Be careful.” We hiked down a dark incline in silence and then onto a gravel road. About thirty minutes later, we spotted lights that appeared to come from a building. I tried to imagine that little adobe shack. Did the lights match the windows? It could have. I kept telling myself it was just a little farther. I started to feel light-headed. I could tell that my pace had slowed.

“Are you feeling OK?” Jake stopped until I caught up to him.

“Not really. I don’t have a lot left in me. But I haven’t given up. Those lights are pretty close. Let’s keep going.”

“I should carry the other duffle bag.”

“No, not until I can’t.”

“Jason, I’ve had more training for this than you. We’re partners; we’re here to take care of each other. I’m going to carry both bags. You’re going to walk to the lights with me.” Jake took the bag. He was right; it was a lot easier for me to walk, and once we reached the building, several lights came on.

When I awoke, I wasn’t really sure where I was or the time. I sat up. I was in a twin bed. A two-foot wide walkway separated my bed from another twin bed upon which Enlisted Jake Hunter, E-4, slept. He was in the same clothes he had on when I met him. I was also in the same clothes. I looked around and saw my luggage on some sort of stand. Another set of luggage was placed next to it. I saw our duffle bags on the floor.

My stomach grumbled. I got out of bed. I needed food, and I needed a shower. I smelled.

“Hey, you’re up.”

I looked over at a figure trying to sit at the edge of the bed. Jake looked up and smiled at me. “Are you as hungry as I am?”

“I want to eat, and shower, and eat.”

“The bathroom’s through that doorway. The toilet’s in there, too. There’s also an air vent you can turn on, just in case.”

I smiled. “I’ll be kind. You got me here safe and sound; although, I don’t really remember anything after getting here.”

“That’s because they made us sit down, and you fell asleep. I couldn’t wake you, so they carried you down here. I was in slightly better shape, but not by much. Go take your shower, and I’ll call for food.”

The shower felt great. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I dumped my clothes in the slot marked ‘Soiled Garments’ and hopped into the shower with the disposable toothbrush that I found on the counter. Jets of hot water sprayed me. The body wash had the scent of Old Spice, and I cleaned every nook and cranny, making sure that every square centimeter of my cock and ball sack were lip-smacking clean. I didn’t want to leave, but I heard Jake announce that breakfast was ready, so I turned off the water and dried myself.

Only when I realized that I didn’t have my razor did I realize that I didn’t have any underwear or clothing. I would have to go into the other room in just a towel, get some clothes from my luggage, and come back into the bathroom. My dick was already half-hard just thinking about walking in front of Jake in just a towel.

I imagined that seeing me in a towel would cause his dick to shrivel up. “Get over it,” I told myself.

“What’d you say, Jason?”

“Just mumbling to myself. I forgot to bring in a clean pair of underwear.”

“You’ve got a pair of disposable paper underwear on your bed. They just arrived from the delivery slot.”

“Paper underwear? I bet they’re scratchy and not my size.”

“Just put them on and have some breakfast.

“I’ll have you know, Mr. Hunter, that I have a very small waist. It’s 26 inches.”

“And your dick and balls won’t fit in standard underwear, right?”

“So, I have to room with a guy with an inflated ego, huge dick, and monster balls. There won’t be any room left for my stuff.”

“Hey,” I said as though I were giving a reprimand.

“Sorry. I got carried away.”

“You certainly did. My ego is not inflated.” I saw Jake put his hand to his forehead and rub it.

“OK. I shouldn’t tell you this. It violates the gay men’s rulebook. But my dick and balls are only slightly larger than average. Will you toss me the underwear?”

“Touching a gay man’s underwear violates the straight man’s rulebook.”

“Alright.” I dropped the towel and walked to wear my new underwear rested neatly on the bed. My almost seven-inch average thickness, uncut cock, in its semi-erect condition and my low-hanging balls, thanks to a hot shower, displayed themselves about fourteen inches from Jake’s nose. I slipped into the underwear easily, but they did push my balls up.

Jake pretended that he didn’t see anything, but I knew he was watching. I secretly hoped he was jealous. “Where’s the food?”

Wearing a dark blue paper t-shirt and gym shorts for our afternoon briefing was not pleasant. While the paper was soft to the touch, it didn’t drape the way cotton does, so the clothing, in spite of being the correct size, did not fit well. Plus, the conference room was cold.

Officer Tamara Sinclair, O-5, was in charge, and let us know that the team of Kilgore and Hunter were first in the find the way back to the base camp challenge. She also let us know that those teams that needed to be rescued would be evaluated more closely by other methods. “No team is guaranteed a place on the space vehicle.”

That comment caused a stir. Many of the scientists on the bus spoke as though they were already on the trip, but I knew there were probably at least two other astrophysicists who could easily take my place. However, I had spoken with both of them, and neither one wanted to go. One of them would be having her third child in about two months. That still did not guarantee me a spot, and I knew that.

Her next statement had everyone eyeing everyone else. “There were cameras and microphones hidden throughout the survival range. Any video or audio that caught you voiding your bladders or digestive tract is deleted with an explanation unless inappropriate conversation is detected. Also, I was dismayed by the amount of sexual banter that I heard. I discussed the matter with General Tarkin, and he is of the opinion that most such banter is usually in fun. I want everyone to know that having a romantic relationship with your partner will not disqualify you from the mission; however, being pregnant will.”

I know that I shouldn’t have, but I was compelled by forces beyond my control to scribble on my notebook, “I hope I didn’t knock you up last night.” I moved my notebook so Jake could see it.

His eye roll told me that he didn’t appreciate my humor, but within a minute, he had written, “Don’t pussies like you usually shoot blanks?”

I suppressed a laugh, but the grin on my face gave me away. He used that as an excuse to push harder. The next note read, “Only real men have sperm.”

I came up with several different responses, but I nixed each as a little too much. His next note said, “No come-back?” He drew an unhappy face next to the message.

I wrote, “I’m listening to the speaker. I don’t have time for your games.” And I followed that with a happy face.

Sinclair droned on for a few more minutes, then each of us was given a tablet with instructions to read the survival manual entitled “Survival on an Unknown World.” With that, we were dismissed and herded back to our rooms.

As soon as we were in the room, Jake pushed me against the wall and pointed his index finger at my heart. He jabbed me with it as he said, “You, Officer Jason Kilgore, are bad news.” Then he burst out laughing. “I bet that bitch would have shit a brick if she had seen what you wrote.”

“Me? You called me a pussy with a low sperm count.”

“I think I said you had a zero sperm count.” He sniggered like a schoolboy.

I was trying not to laugh, but it was too infectious. I grabbed his hand; he was beginning to poke me too hard. “Don’t poke me like that.” He looked up into my eyes. I could see his eyes move back and forth from my left to my right and back again. I took a deep breath.

“Don’t do that to me,” his tone was serious.

I wasn’t sure exactly what he was talking about. “What do you mean?”

He looked down where I was holding his finger and then back to my eyes. “That thing you gay guys do.”

I still didn’t understand. “What’s that?”

“Look at me like that. Touch me like that.”

“What about like this?” I ran my fingers through the hair on the side of his head.

He turned his head and kissed the palm of my hand. “Don’t do that either.”

“Jake, you’re confusing me.”

“No. Jason. You’re confusing me.”

“How,” I asked.

“You’re joking around with me like we’re buddies or brothers, but you’re looking at me as though you can see inside me, and your eyes keep asking me to get closer and…”

“OK,” I took a deep breath. “First of all, I liked you right off the bat. I trusted you without any questions. I knew we were going to be great partners, and we proved that we were. But there is something more about you. I think you’re handsome and sexy.”

Jake threw his head back. “Oh, fuck.”

“What? Talk to me.”

He looked into my eyes again before leaning forward and kissing me. It was gentle and caring. His soft lips caressed mine, and when I parted my lips slightly and his tongue met mine. I continued looking at him. He pulled back and turned away. “I’ve only met three guys in my life who I wanted to kiss, but I’ve been able to resist. But you make me want more than a kiss.”

“Tell me what you want,” I told him. “We can talk about it.” I moved closer to him.

“I want you. I want you in all the ways it’s possible for one guy to want another.” He began to shake his head, “But it can’t work. You won’t want me.”

“But I do want you. We can take it slow.” I put my hand on his chest. “We might have some challenges, but we can do it.” I kissed him.

He got a pained look on his face. I sensed he needed to tell me something. “What is it, Jake? What are you worried about? Is there something I should know.” I touched his hair again. He moaned, just barely audible. Then he kissed me.

“I need to take a shower.”

“A cold one?”

“Yeah.” He broke away and went into the bathroom. He turned his back to me.

I saw him strip, and his back was as gorgeous as the rest of him. I looked away. I took a deep breath and wondered if my life was ever going to be easy. A hunk was my flight partner. He liked me; he was easy to get along with. He was smart. He was a great kisser. But, he didn’t think we could have a relationship. Well, fuck that, I thought. I’ll show him how well we go together.

I walked into the bathroom, dropping my clothes as I went. Jake was facing away from the opening. I stepped in behind him. He sensed me and turned his head.

“Jason…”

“Shhh. I’m here no matter what. I sense that you’re hurting. I care about you. I need to do something. Let me help.”

“You’ll say it doesn’t matter, but it will.”

“I can’t be honest with you if I don’t have the facts.”

“Then look.” He turned and faced me. Tears formed in his eyes. “Take a good look at my dick.”

The pained look on his face terrified me. My heart rate went up. I looked down, past his well-defined hair chest to the treasure trail and his nice tight abs, to a small tuft of pubic hair. A thin, short penis laid over an average-sized scrotum filled with two normal-sized balls. I reached down and held it, and an erection ensued. Jake’s dick was the thickness of a Crayola marker and was about two inches long.

I pressed my lips against his and kissed him. I could taste the salty tears that had run down his cheeks and onto his lips. Then I lowered myself.

“No. You don’t have to…”

My mouth encircled his cock. It fit perfectly in my mouth. I had never sucked one that thin, but I was able to play with it using my tongue in ways I never could with the others. I could hear Jake moan, and that made me go at him with an increased frenzy. I was surprised when his dick jerked in my mouth so quickly. He dumped his load in my mouth, and the taste was not unlike that I had previously experienced. I swallowed his seed and stood up.

Jake was looking at me and still teary-eyed.

“Was this about the size of your shaft?”

“No one’s ever blown me. I got ridiculed by guys I dated, and…”

“They were assholes. Your cock works just fine, and your swimmers taste great.” I touched his ear again. “How they must have hurt you.”

“You don’t care? I’m mean about how little it is?”

“Hell no. I can’t wait to see how it feels when you fuck me.”

“Jason, yours is so much bigger.”

“Maybe, but is my dick size what you think about when you think about me?” I felt two strong arms encircle me and pull me close. His tongue licked my chin, and I felt my cock swell. “Let’s dry off.”