Red Mars Love (3 page)

The sheer material most likely would have been see-through on any other planet and I wondered how they stopped the faint phosphorescence of her skin from highlighting her form.  But, then, maybe that effect was something she could turn on and off?  I puzzled over the idea wondering if maybe there was some mutual interest.

I turned away quickly aware that I was staring.

Out of the corner of my eye I was sure she was smiling at me, I was too scared to turn around and be certain.

I quickly looked for an opportunity to blend into the surroundings and was relieved when some performers stepped on stage with a weird array of instruments. 

They began to play a beautiful and melodic melody that floated across the room causing the occupants to pause their conversations.

They formed up in pairs initiating a beautiful and erotic dance performing movements that wouldn’t normally be performed in formal events.  I watched the gyrations and natural symmetry and flow to the music in awe at the beauty of the spectacle.

The women all wore the same translucent materials as they flowed across the room to the music.  The material created a flowing pattern augmented by the phosphorescence of their skin.

I guess they could turn that talent on and off, I thought, must make for an interesting night together.

I continued to watch the group in their dance, enjoying the beauty and erotic formations they displayed.  I looked for Sid but could not see her in the crowd of dancers, it seemed everyone took part in the event.

I was lost in my reverie enjoying the casual evening on Cygnus when the com vibrated on my wrist.

I looked at the display remembering that I had linked it to the planetary radar system and saw a ship had just blinked to the surface.  Quickly I messaged my ship looking for confirmation with the planetary defenses but saw there was no record.

The ship was unauthorized.

I scanned the room for Sid only to see her standing at my elbow

. 

“Look!”

She nodded and we started to exit the hall.

“The ship just traveled to the surface, do they know the danger of that maneuver?”

Sid just nodded in return.

A ship could not travel directly to the surface without taking great risks that the arrival location would be occupied but pirates had in the past sent a person on the ground to visually verify a site allowing ships to travel directly to the ground, avoiding contact

”Let’s go” she exited the room and I had to run to catch up.

We ran to my ship and entered the coordinates of the unauthorized ship.  We took the ship but were still limited by the speed of the propulsion systems onboard; blinking would have been so much faster but an unnecessary danger with no ground support.

My stomach growled as we lifted off from the platform, why did things always have to happen at dinner time, I wondered as we took off.

The site was remote, far on the other side of the planet, I pushed the ship to the max speed I could within the planet’s atmosphere.

Sid hovered over my shoulder fussing with the ships navigation system as I piloted the ship.

”Do you think we’ll get there in time?”  She asked concerned.

“Well, unless someone warned them, we should make it.”

She still wore the sexy material that clung to her sexual frame and I wanted to forget the whole mission and ravage her right then and there.

I pushed the ship to the top velocity possible within the low altitude but it still seemed too slow.  I checked the distance we still had to travel and we still had a ways to go.

The ship skimmed over the terrain just above the top of the dark leafed trees.  I watched for any animals that could damage the ship or impede our progress but the magnetic fields around the sleek vehicle would ward off any animal brave enough to get in our path.

I pushed the ship to its brink and monitored the planetary radar ensuring the other ship was still there.  I hoped that the intruders had grown so lax on the planet that they weren’t monitoring radar themselves.  I couldn’t hid the ship, at least not this size of a transport.

The darkness of the terrain belayed our speed and the ships radar worked in overtime watching for potential disasters.

Finally, we came to the location.  I slowed the ship and shut down all the perimeter lights so we could sneak in undetected.  I stopped the ship a safe distance and turned on the viewing cameras.

Sid looked on concerned as I eased the ship to hover over the ground. 

The front viewing window from the bridge displayed the scene we had encountered.  I turned on the video camera recorder to capture all the events for future reference.  I was ecstatic that we had so quickly found our environmental criminals.

The ship had landed in the dark clearing.  People swarmed the location with canisters some still sealed some obviously had been emptied.  They went about their work efficiently, obviously familiar with the process.

I kept the recorder going and sat back to watch the activities.  I wasn’t responsible for stopping them, just gathering the evidence and the providing it to my contractors for them to take action.  The recording would be the end of my involvement.

I was about to get up and go grab a snack, we had, after all, missed dinner, when I heard a strange music begin to play. 

I looked around for Sid but she was nowhere to be found.

That was odd I thought and got up from the bridge console and descended into the lower room.  I told the ship to turn on the displays so that I could still monitor the activities.

As I came into the main room below I saw Sid.  She was standing in the center of the room dancing to the elaborate music.  Well, dancing was probably a loose definition of what she actually doing it was more like a combination of yoga and ballet.

She did not seem to notice that I had entered the room, the only light was from the video display on the monitor and the faint glow of her skin.

I sat and watched her move.  Her lithe body arched in ways I could not imagine possible for a normal human being and wondered how long she had trained to be able to perform these intricate movements. 

She still wore the sheer dress but the faint glow of her skin made the sheer material disappear in a more provocative manner.

I was reminded of a strip club I had visited once on Mars.  They had one very popular girl that came from Cygnus and she showed her amazing traits to their full sexual advantage.

But Sid put that stripper to shame.

Sid caught me watching her as I sat down on the lounge chair in the rec room.  She gave me a faint smile as she slowly and effortlessly bent over backwards arching her back in an almost unhuman manner.  She glanced my way as she then brought her legs up one, then the other draping the sheer dress between her legs concealing the mysteries beneath the material.  She stood up gracefully after completing the entire maneuver nonplussed by the effort the maneuver would have caused any normal person, well at least me.

Her maneuver left her standing directly in front of me and I looked up into her large round eyes.  I was aroused by her actions but did not know what to expect.

“Do you know what music they were playing at dinner?” 

Sid looked at me expectantly, but I shook my head, I had no idea where she was going with these words nor what to expect from the sudden change in her actions.

Sid gave an exasperated sigh.

“I would have thought such a renowned planetologist as yourself would recognize courting rituals.”

I was still puzzled by what she was saying, but I was starting to get an idea.  I was a planetologist but I had always been a bit weak when it came to the indigenous cultures that inhabited those planets so I wasn’t surprised that I had missed a clue that would have been obvious to anyone else.

“I really thought you would have realized what was going on.”

Sid continued, her tone softening just a little bit.

“We had long since identified the source of the red algae contamination but I needed a viable excuse to request your services.  It’s only proper, of course.” 

She became more demure in her demeanor.

“I had to gain the approval of my father, too, before I could begin, that is why we went for lunch.” 

I was beginning to see that Sid was in fact courting me.  What an interesting turn of events.

“The dinner was meant as the beginning of our courtship.”

Sid smiled and came and sat down on the arm of my chair.

The pieces were starting to fall into place and I was looking at her in an entirely different manner.  I had wanted her for a long time but now the prospect of touching that soft and supple skin had my mind racing.

“On our planet, the women hold the reins.” 

I just sat and watched her listening intently, afraid I might say something stupid as a result of the massive change in blood flow within my body.

“We choose whom we would like to be with and initiate the ritual courtship once we obtain approvals.”

She stood up and went into the galley to find a bottle of wine.  I knew it was one of her favorites from our time together in the university.

I heard the pop of the cork and wine filling the long stemmed glasses, she came back into the room carrying them.

I looked at her differently as she entered the room carrying the glasses.  I had always been attracted to her and she fascinated me with her courtly grace, knowledge of the universe and skills as a liaison.  I could think of no person in the vast universe who would be a better partner but I was still not convinced she truly wanted me.

I decided to let the evening unfold and to see just what this truly meant.  I was, after all, just a bumbling planetologist with no idea on how to navigate the intricate social customs of all the races I dealt with.

We each took a glass and began sipping on the wine.

Sid sat down next to me, lounging like a goddess with her sheer dress clinging to every curve of her body.  Her large yet firm breasts sat proudly atop her chest.  Her shapely body with no trace of excess fat sat erotically on the chair.  Her long, dark hair fell in smooth waves almost to her waist.  Her deep dark eyes looked at me intently, waiting for my response.

I had always been attracted to Sid but never acted on my feelings.  I had thought she felt something for me but never had the nerve to act on it because I had no idea how she would react.

But now her intentions were clear.

I had never been in this position before, normally you had to hunt down woman and determine for yourself whether or not they were interested but now, the most attractive woman I had met in the galaxy wanted me. 

I had no idea what to do next.

“I’m still waiting for your answer.”

I realized I had left her waiting as I pondered my next move all the while studying her beautiful physique.

”Yes?”

She smiled.

“Is there something in particular I’m supposed to do?”

It occurred to me that maybe I was signing up for more than I was prepared for.

“Wait, do I have to do some exotic back walk over or maybe run naked through a nearby stream?”

Sid smiled, chuckling to herself.  “No, just answer affirmatively.”

“Well now what?”

I knew what I wanted but was handing the reins over to her.

“Is the bedroom there?”  She pointed to the stairs leading up to the bedroom.

I nodded.

“Let’s go, we can talk things over there.”

She picked up the wine glasses and walked to the stairs not looking to see if I was following.

I had never been seduced by a woman but was immensely glad that it was Sid doing the seducing.  On Mars the courting ritual involved getting a genetic test, after all, the small community that started on that planet was so interrelated you risked dating your cousin or worse yet, the genetic equivalent of your mother.

I stood up and followed Sid.  I could just barely see the last trace of her dress heading up the small winding stairs.