Chapter 4

She packaged messages to Blue Ion, boy was she pissed at them! She started to record a message to her mom, but stopped. There wasn’t anything her astronomer mom could do sitting on the Moon, two hundred million kilometers away, except worry.

Instead, she recorded a message to her dad and attached the data and current reports.

“Dad”, she started, her voice broke, started again, “Dad, please check this data. We have a very unusual anomaly occurring and would like assistance. I’ve sent same to Blue Ion, don’t pay their bill. I love you.”

This was all she could manage without screaming or crying. The two of them were in an out-of-control multi-billion credit spacecraft that was supposedly foolproof. She laughed at herself thinking about that two century old space picture show, what was the title, Titanic? No, of course; 2001 ... and HAL.

“Pilot send message.”

“This requires repositioning primary antenna. Contact with Luna will be lost.”

She almost screamed at Pilot, “Use the fucking secondary antenna!”

“Atarah, I am sorry. Please repeat your command.”

That was the first time she heard Pilot use her name. Actually, anyone’s name. That worried her.

“Pilot please send via secondary antenna.”

She took a breath and added one more anomaly to the list, then checked up on Jabin. He had Pilot listing every possible method of shutting down the Drive, marking dangerous or fatal ones in red. She laughed at ‘blow up ship’.

She was surprised at how many ways, non-fatal, were available. She started with the ones not marked red.

“Pilot, halt core processor one. Run diagnostic on core processor one. Return to active.”

She repeated for the remaining two. Any one CP could run the ship, but with three, they voted constantly, cross checking each other. Once completed, she had Pilot halt Drive. No change.

They were adding several kilometers per minute to their speed, minute after minute. Normally, they would reach a midpoint where they had to shed their velocity as orbital mechanics played out its dance. Pilot would shut down the Drive, turn around and fire up the Drive, ridding them of the delta-v they had built up until they matched their destination. Even that was hitting a bullet with a bullet. But now, they would flash by the orbit of 2 Pallas with no stopping and no 2 Pallas anywhere near.

“Pilot, recalculate for 2 Pallas rendezvous with turnaround while running at 98% Drive rate with no coast time.”

Jabin looked at her, “That would be fun. Spin the ship around WITH the Drive on. Like a pinwheel firework. I feel dizzy just thinking about it.”

“I just hope Pilot can do the calculation. Did you hear Pilot call my name?”

“Don’t cuss at it.”

She laughed.

Jabin calmly said, “So your plan is to spin a thousand ton, hundred meter long ship with one third gee burn still on, slow to near rendezvous and ... scram the reactor and hope for rescue?”

She smiled, “This girl’s got guts, ‘eh?”

“Let’s try these other things first.”

Pilot interrupted their conversation,”StarNav is reporting anomalous tracking data for 2 Pallas and Luna. Correction for new position of 2 Pallas and Luna added to high gain antenna tracking and rendezvous calculation.”

Too many anomalies at once. She started with this newest one.

Atarah questioned, “Pilot, what is the new position of 2 Pallas?”

“2 Pallas is now located at R35.23455...”

“Stop! Darn it literal AI’s...” she zoomed the orbital graph to the asteroid.

“Jabin, my brain hurts. How does a trillion tons of rock move 7 klicks into a new orbit?”

“ ... And Luna moved 3 klicks from its orbit”, Atarah added in disbelief.

Jabin used StarNav manually, but this time shifted to spectral Doppler measurements. Relative to the Sun, he found most of the planets and largest moons were not quite in their expected locations. He had Pilot confirm his own data.

She took a breath, this time she needed her mom ... for astronomy and moral support. She recorded a message.

Atarah woke, rolled over to find Jabin asleep beside her. She started laughing. All this time, the buildup, the mating party and what do they do on their mating night? Sleep! She kissed him. He opened his eyes.

“Hi, my love. I guess you didn’t do me while I slept?” she kidded.

He blushed, his clothes were still on. Hers were crumpled underneath her. He rolled over on top of her and kissed her. His hands slowly slid down her naked body, still under the cover with him.

She asked, “May I?”, as she found the tear strips on his mating clothes and ripped their seam without waiting for his reply. His clothes came away as easily as hers, including his underwear. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he kissed her breast and nibbled on her nipples. She giggled to his touches and moved her hands down to his hairless butt, squeezing it.

“You don’t want to wait, do you?” he kidded.

“I’ve dreamed about this for a year”, she replied with a sultry tone.

“I hope I live up to your dreams.”

Luckily, their memory attenuator had reduced most of their previous virtual sexual encounters and that explosive orgasmic porn mem to just a tiny glow. So, she would be experiencing her first real love making. Assuming if he ever got on with it. She pressed on his butt cheeks and spread her legs wide for him.

“Too quick my love. We need to build”, he whispered.

She stopped, “Wait! HOW do YOU know how to build ... my LOVE?”

“Hey, I’m 14, I have my ways.”

She swatted him. They tumbled, wrapping themselves in the covers. She ended up on top.

She pushed the covers off of them.

“Hot”, she whispered, fanning herself as she sat up, straddling him.

“Yes you ARE!” he snickered.

He ran his hands from her waist up to her breasts and stroked them with his long fingers. He traced little circles around her nipples then pinched them.

“Ow.”

He pinched them harder. Her eyes flared and she collapsed onto him, her 6 kilos lunar weight a mere feather on him. He felt her long toes tickling his feet as her hands stroked his sides. They kissed. She pushed her tongue against his lips. He opened his mouth to accept her. School hadn’t described French kissing, but they had figured it out quickly over a year ago. School did describe, in useful detail, the mechanics of sex and the romance of mating, even without the possibility of children. In other words, how to enjoy the lovemaking. She remembered back to that time under the hydro garden where they nearly had sex. But this seemed different. Almost like they were a long married couple. Just nice touching, holding, being close.

But then she felt it. Between her legs, it touched her. She realized his bare penis was touching her nude vulva. She returned into the mood, their lips kissed and tongues licked. She slid her body up and down his, still on top of him. Easy, fun. She let her whole body move over his, feeling his body with hers. She slid up until her breasts were in his mouth. Then down until her pussy pushed against his hard prick. She slid down more, bending his prick downwards until he groaned. Then back up again. She used her whole body to hump him, something difficult on Earth, but easy here. Practicing Kama Sutra would be a piece of cake in lunar gravity. Her motion back and forth slowly reduced to just rubbing and releasing his prick against her slit. She felt herself get moist and felt him become sticky with pre-cum.

Her motion decreased still further, until she was just rocking her sex against his prick. She looked into his eyes. He had been staring at her face the entire time, watching her, feeling her. Her movement slowed to a gentle, tiny motion of her hips. His tip was at her entrance. She knew this next part would sting, but her desire started to burn, not wanting to wait. But she held back, just feeling. Feeling him so close to her. She knew this was important to remember; their first time.

He caressed her small body as she lay on top of him. She looked like a little girl. She was a little girl. His girl. His love. As she rocked on him, he massaged her breasts, just larger than little rice bowls. He ran his fingers down her torso, to her hips, feeling her protruding pelvic bones. He ran his hands across her belly and to her bare mound, his fingertips sliding between their legs. She lifted herself on her hands and knees until she was just touching his prick against her slit. His body urging him to hump her as she held herself like so on top of him. Being so light, he could lift her and move her whole body around. Their teen burn seemed almost subdued this morning. Maybe due to their BCI disabled, unable to pass their emotions, like they had in the past. His mom said they would re-allow access as they grew more mature together.

He didn’t mind, as just touching her nakedness against his for the first time felt wonderful. He saw something flash in her eyes. She was ready, she wanted him inside her. He felt the tip of his prick pressing against her, something new, something he had wanted from the time in the hydro-garden. That time had come.

Their eyes fixed on one another. He tamped down his own urge to pierce her, letting this be hers, important for her. He felt her push down and widen. She was tight. His crown was just barely inside. His tip pressed against what he knew was her maidenhead. The irises on her green eyes narrowed as if concentrating.

Then she pushed.

He felt his dick pressed into a too small area, even for him. He heard a whimper and a flash across her face. He felt her pain, even without their neural connection. He lay still even as his body prodded him to move. He felt he was wrapped in her. Warm and moist. She lay down on his chest listening to his heart, now beating fast. He was inside her. They were mated.

He couldn’t resist, he had to move, ever so slowly. He slid an inch out, then paused. Then pushed in, this time deeper. She whined a bit, but moved her hip; torn between pain and pleasure. He repeated, this time just little bit out and a little bit in, rocking now. She took up the rocking, speeding up his moves. They were humping. Having real sex, not virtual over the link separated by walls, if not minds. Now they were physically one, connected together. He was sexing her. Their first love making for real. His breathing increased. He felt his balls slapping against him in the low gravity. They were thrusting together, in heat, in desire. He heard her moan and her motion became almost like a gallop as she sat upright on him holding tight in order to keep from being bounced into the air. Her eyes closed and breathing rapid, coming in fits as she hurried towards her finish line.

Her eyes flashed wide, unfocused, a breath caught and she froze for a second, then her whole body shook. He realized she was in orgasm. He cried out her name and exploded into her, pumping his sterile juice, spurting, spurting as his mind blanked in ecstasy. Physical love and sex outdoing virtual. She collapsed onto him, tears on her face. He held her tight, feeling permanently attached to her. They slept.

A message arrived back from Atarah’s dad. He looked worried but offered strong encouragement, telling her to stay calm, smart, don’t rush. There were weeks to figure this out. He sent an initial instruction packet for Pilot, doing a low-level raw dump of all data for the timeframe of the anomaly. Even at only 140 milliseconds in length, the data recorded amounted to gigabytes. All had been preserved into long term storage. It would take many minutes to send the data. She knew dad could run commands remotely, in fact, control the entire ship remotely. So could Blue Ion, the bastards. She wondered. Could there be human involvement in this? She also noticed something unexpected; her dad had the stubble of a beard.

Atarah went back to examining that section of data where Pilot reported a collision, even though there seemed to be none, or at least no further information on it. Jabin isolated the area where the ‘impact’ appeared to have occurred and sent a repair droid out. Normally, Pilot would have done this automatically, but of course, Pilot still insisted nothing was wrong.

Another 20 minutes passed and she received an acknowledgement from Blue Ion and they said they too had received telemetry a few minutes prior to her data with what appeared to them as a dropout. They said the poor tech on staff shit his pants when he thought he saw a reactor containment failure occur and then magically everything was fine.

Atarah showed the message and the uplinked data of what Blue Ion saw to Jabin.

He looked at it and announced, “Looks like we are dead. This must be heaven? Hell?”

Blue Ion’s data showed the containment failed and the ship detonated into a ball of superheated plasma ... at exactly the end of that 140 millisecond timestamp. She had seen the alarm report, one moment catastrophic failure and the next green. She looked at it over and over. Her atomic physics could see that it sure looked like a failure had occurred. But she calmed herself; she still felt alive. She leaned over and touched Jabin, just to reassure herself he was really there.

She asked Pilot for the raw data for the last ten milliseconds of the anomaly. Several hundred megabytes; thousands of lines to go through. She looked at Jabin.