Space Force

Someone had put the lighting in the emergency setting.  I wondered whether it was intentional and designed to put us all on edge.  I reached over and squeezed Jake’s hand.  While it may not have been the most professional act on my part, it gave me some personal comfort.

An MP I hadn’t seen before this was standing at the open door to the conference room. She pointed to the far side of the room. “Enlisted eat there.” Jake headed over, stern and upright. I saw several of the others turn away from him, but more of them walked over and shook his hand.

My attention was drawn to the front of the room where I was told the officers were to sit. I nodded thanks to the MP and walked to a group of three men and two women.

“How are you holding up?” asked Margot Svenson.

I smiled. “I’m fine now that the food is decent and arrives on time.” Her quizzical look let me know that she didn’t experience the interruption in foodservice.

She dropped her voice, and the others walked over to me. “I don’t know how you’re doing it. That room is small enough, but being trapped in there with a killer.”

“I don’t understand,” I said innocently. Obviously, people were finding a way to spread shit against Jake. “Jake didn’t kill anyone.”

“But he wasn’t in his bed,” she whispered.

I wanted to play the game to see where it would lead, but maybe a shock to their sensibilities, or perhaps their lack thereof, might prove to be more helpful. “That’s because he was in mine. Not only is he good to look at, but he is one great fuck.”

Margot straightened her spine. Kira was stone-faced, and Skip slapped me on the back. “You seemed to be getting along well with him that first night. So, tell me, is it just a case of fuck buddies, or is it more?”

“Not sure. He is a great guy. Strong, smart,” I replied.

“Lucky fuck,” then he turned more serious. “Wait. That means he didn’t off her.”

Kira spoke up, “All it means is that he’s smart enough to slip out after you’ve fallen asleep as well as manipulate the security videos.”

“What security videos?” I made sure I sounded as though I had no idea what they were talking about.

“You don’t know that he blanked out all the videos that show him sneaking down the hall and going into her room to kill her.”

“No one told me.” I looked over at Jake. “I had no idea. I mean, he's smart, but he doesn’t seem that smart.”

“What do you mean?” asked Skip.

“Well, you know who you can have a smart dog. It learns tricks fast, and things like that, but it still can’t operate a microwave. You still love it for the things it can do.”

“Like how it can rub your prostate with its penis?” Kira said with contempt.

I hadn’t realized how she didn’t like me.

“I wish I had a partner who could do that,” Skip laughed, then he looked at his partner. “Well, she’s got great survivalist skills.”

“Skip, keep focused.” I noticed the others had arrived and two buffet lines had opened; one for the Enlisted, the other for the Officers. “Let’s get something to eat.”

The officers sat together; we ate without much conversation, and before we finished, General Tarkin came in. Orin Williams was with him. I glanced over at Jake. He and the others in his group, unlike mine, were chatting it up as they ate.

Tarkin and Williams had some breakfast, too, before they began. The woman I had seen in the corner during my interrogation came in, but she stayed at the side. I scanned the other scientists. Some of them seemed tense; others were just bored and uninterested. Our group was completely different from Jake’s group.

Orin stood up. “You may continue eating while we get you up-to-date.” Everyone continued to eat; although, the noise level dropped way down. “General Tarkin.”

The General stood up. “Ladies and Gentleman. As all of you know, Officer Sinclair was murdered while working at this facility. While all of you are here for the Argos project, it has taken a back seat to this investigation. At the same, the time table for the project has changed. So the pressure will be on you. We need to get justice for Officer Sinclair. Additionally, because the facility was sealed; the only conclusion that can be drawn is that one or more of you is culpable of this heinous crime.”

He remained standing in front of us without saying anything. Even I began to feel uncomfortable. I looked again at the faces of my colleagues. I had a gut feeling that one of them killed her.

Tarkin continued. “Now for changes in Project Argos. Changes in the space vehicle have resulted in only twelve partners’ being selected for the journey.”

I heard under their breath grumbling from a few; I noticed that Kira and Edwin did not seem fazed by the announcement.

“The launch date is now five months away.”

“Fuck.” That comment came from the Enlisted side.

“Someone realizes the seriousness of the date change.” The General went on, “Study times are shorter; there is less time to master your skills. First, you must pass the survival portion. Only five teams have. Those teams will move on to the next portion; the rest will focus on the survival methods. Each of your tablets will have your next program pushed out. Now I’m turning it back to Officer Williams.”

Orin came back to the front. “First, I want you to know that I have assigned someone to handle the meal situation. I will ask you to appear here, beginning today, at 1200 hours for lunch, 1800 hours for dinner, and 600 hours for breakfast. You will meet here, in two separate areas as you are today unless you are outside the facility. The doors to your rooms will only be locked if you lock them. However, it is recommended that you remain in your rooms to help you adapt to the isolation that you’ll encounter on the mission.

“The spacecraft simulator will be ready to occupy in less than a week. I will be interviewing everyone again. At this point, it is clear that someone hacked into the security monitoring system and deleted certain aspects of the data. A forensic expert has narrowed down the terminal at which the system was violated. Also, some video data has been recovered, and reconstruction experts are using that data as well as data collected from the body to determine the physical characteristics of the perpetrator. We expect to arrest in the case within forty-eight hours.

"I've been asked to notify you that after you have concluded your meal, you should go back to your rooms to check your tablets. A gym schedule has also been pushed out to you. That schedule must be adhered to strictly. An MP will be at the entrance to the gym to guarantee your cooperation.

“I’ll be talking to each of you. You’re dismissed."

I wanted another waffle so I went back up to get one. When I got back to the table, most of the others were gone. Jake was by himself waiting on me. I signaled him that I was ready to go. I took my waffle with me.”

I looked through the tablet when we got back to the room. Our gym time was scheduled for the hour before lunch.

“Do you want to go to the gym today, Jake?”

“I’d love it. But I need to talk to you.” He leaned close to me and whispered, “Should we go in the shower not to be heard?”

“I’d love to, but we don’t need to. I know they’re listening, but I don’t think we have to hide anything at this point.

“The other enlisted seem to think one of the officers is the killer. Frankly, only one of the enlisted, a woman named Sheila, has the training required to do what they’re saying happened to the security system. According to her, it’s really difficult to do, and it requires the security override codes.”

“But using standard codes would identify the user. Something that’s been bothering me is why someone would kill her. What would be the benefit?”

“What was her function, Jason? Didn’t she just coordinate the training for the partners?”

“She could also prevent a pair of volunteers from the program.”

“Do you think she had chosen a pair to eliminate, and that pair killed her?”

“Sounds like a motive, Jake. I have a difficult time believing that any of the scientists would kill someone over losing a spot on the first mission. Based on the data I’ve seen, by mission three, all of us will have a place.”

“Then there must be something else. Maybe she knew something about one of us.”

“Oh, Jason. All I know is that you didn’t do it. I didn’t do it.”

“Let’s go work out. Maybe it will clear my head.”

We arrived at the gym just a few minutes before our allotted time. No one was there, so the MP let us right in. We took a brief look at the gym. As we walked next to the swimming pool, I tried to do a fake push, but Jake grabbed me and we both fell in. I came up coughing.

I reached for the edge as I struggled to keep my head above the water. I was able to grasp it with my fingertips. I felt a tugging, and my pants and underwear were pulled away. I turned around and was met with a passionate kiss. I slid down under the water, removing Jake’s gym shorts and underwear. I placed my mouth over his dick, and it swelled to hardness as I sucked.

My head was pulled up again; I used my elbows to hold me at the edge of the pool. Jake grabbed my knees and brought them up. My fuck hole was completely accessible to him. He moved closer to me, and his penis rubbed against my sphincter. I tilted my hips toward him. I wanted to feel him inside me. His hands slipped under my knees and grabbed the pool’s rim.

He pulled and I tilted. The head of his cock was forced inside me. I could not maintain my line of sight. My eyes were rolling back as lightheadedness filled my brain. Although Jake humped only slightly, I felt the pressure change as his dick changed position at the entrance to my pussy. He came quickly, and I felt that as well. As he slipped out and into the water, a stream of cum lead from my hole to the hole at the tip of his cock.

I pulled his face to mine and kissed him.

“I had my dick inside you.” I felt his tongue slip into my mouth as he kissed me hard. I tasted the saltiness of his tears.

“I felt it; it was incredible, and I felt when you came. It was incredible.”

“I never thought that would ever happen for me.”

“Jake, there is nothing we can’t do together.”