Bodies of Light (7 page)

 
“Electrical fire in port engine now extinguished. Engine shut down to avoid radiation leakage. Major fracture detected in tail structure…”

“What? What happened? Did something hit us?”

“No collision detected.” The ship paused for a second or two, as if to allow her to interrupt again. “Estimate that tail section will separate in one to three hours. Additional fractures detected in sections C-2, C-5 and D-4. Recommend immediate evacuation.”

Christine sank into the pilot’s seat, overwhelmed. Evacuation? To where? The ship had an escape shuttle, but it was intended for use in the vicinity of a planet, not in deep space.

 
What was she going to do? And what had happened to Alyn and Zed?

As if summoned by her desperate thoughts, the aliens appeared on the control deck, Alyn to the left of her, Zed to the right. She rushed into Alyn’s embrace. He stroked her hair, holding her tight. After a moment of self-indulgent surrender, she pushed him away.

“What’s going on? Where were you?” she demanded.

“Checking the damage from the outside,” said Zed.

“But why…? Did something happen while—while we were making love?”

Alyn shook his head, his face grave. “No—not then…” He seemed too upset to continue.

“Then when? Please, tell me!”

“Our best guess is that this is a delayed effect,” Zed answered, stumbling over his words. “The stresses of the initial collision—when we emerged at the same space-time coordinates as your ship and then your ship was whisked through hyperspace—as I said before, I was surprised there had been so little damage…”

He looked thoroughly unhappy. Sympathy and concern drowned Christine’s anger. She took him in her arms, planting soft kisses on his lips and brow. “Oh, Zed! You couldn’t help it.”

Alyn came up behind her, pressing his lean form into her back and sandwiching her between them. “We are responsible nevertheless,” he murmured. Christine noticed that, for once, he was not erect.

“Oh, my darlings…” She clung to them, feeling safe even though she knew, intellectually, that her life was ticking away. The warmth of their skin against hers, the firmness of their muscles, their earthy scent—it was sweet, regardless of what came after. She would have been glad to have them take her, there on the floor of the bridge. She wanted to spend her last hours joined with the men she loved.

It was clear, though, that sex was the last thing on their minds. Finally, she released them. They sat in a triangle, gazing at each other in silence.

A thud shook the bridge. “What was that?” Christine cried.

“Microwave antenna three has separated from the ship,” the computer intoned. Sure enough, they could see a hunk of debris tumbling off into space to the left of the ship. “New breach in hull at section F-2. Bulkhead sealed.”

Alyn rose from his seat. “We don’t have long, Christine. We’ve got to decide what to do.”

“Do? What can we do?” Christine scanned their grim faces. “Do you have a plan?”

“We see two possibilities.” Zed took her hands in his. “It’s up to you.”

“Really? There’s hope? What are you thinking?”

“We could put you in the shuttle and send you back to Earth,” said Alyn.

“But—the range of the shuttle…”

“We’d send you through hyperspace.”

“How? You told me that transporting matter at faster-than-light speeds requires vast amounts of energy. We don’t have any kind of fuel that can generate that kind of power.”

“We are creatures of energy, sweet,” Zed said. “We’ll be the ‘fuel’.”

Christine was silent, contemplating this. “You’d be consumed,” she said finally. “You’d cease to exist.”

Alyn nodded, a sad smile lighting his face. “That is true. But you would live. To us, that is more important, especially when it is we who are to blame for the destruction of your ship and the death of your friends.”

“No. I won’t allow it. I don’t want to live if you two die.” She grabbed their hands. “I never believed I’d find someone—someone to complete me the way you do. I never dreamed of meeting one soulmate, let alone two! The thought of losing that, losing you…no! Definitely not. What is the other possibility?”

“Well,” said Zed. “You could abandon your physical body, the way we did ours. Join us in our travels through the universe. Become pure light, as we are.”

“Abandon my body?” Christine remembered the intensity of her experience as an energy being, but the details were fuzzy, veiled by the limitations of flesh. She recalled her moment of insight, when she’d solved the space-time equations, but not the solution itself.

She had been willing to risk the separation in order to connect with Alyn and Zed on a higher level, but that had been temporary. She had expected to return to the physical plane. Now they were suggesting she make the separation permanent.

She cast her eyes down over her body—neat breasts tipped with taut pink nipples, flat stomach and lean thighs, the triangle of chestnut curls at the apex. Her body had served her well. Was she ready to let it go? Would she still be Christine Clarkson, without this body? If not, who would she be?

This body was doomed, though. Even if the ship were not tearing itself apart, how long would she live, out here in space? Indeed, even if she’d never left Earth, this body would not have lasted more than a century at best.

They were offering virtual immortality. Even more important, they were offering her love. How could she possibly hesitate?

“Yes,” she told them, gazing into their eyes and hoping she sounded brave. “That’s the only solution. But how…?”

“Lie back in the chair. Let us pleasure you. We’ll give you an orgasm so intense you’ll fly free, the way you did before. Once your spirit separates from your flesh, we’ll whisk you away from the ship.”

A sound of tortured metal reached their ears. “Rear robot arm…” the computer began.

“I don’t want to know,” Christine snapped, stabbing at the switch. The mechanical voice fell silent. “Let’s do it,” she urged. “Now!”

She settled into Sven’s seat, arranging herself as comfortably as possible. With a grin, Zed flipped a lever until the back reclined. He leaned over to brush his lips over hers. His dusky cock reared up from the thicket at his groin, ready to fuck her so hard he’d drive her soul from her body. The sight—and the thought—made her instantly wet.

It was Alyn who began, though, kneeling between her splayed thighs and tonguing her throbbing clit. He poured his energy into her. Pure electricity arced through her flesh. She groaned and arched up, grinding her pussy against his face. In response, Alyn grasped her hips and burrowed deeper. He probed and sucked until she shuddered and burst, coming in great spasms.

The world flickered as pleasure poured through her. Something tugged at her insides, like a trapped animal trying to break free. But matter held her fast. Alyn continued to lick her as the trembling faded, and she started to climb again.

Meanwhile, Zed bent over her prone form, plunging his tongue into her mouth while teasing her nipples into aching peaks. She was on fire even before he transferred his mouth to her breasts. His teeth closed on the swollen nubs at the same instant Alyn nipped at her rigid clit. Pain morphed into unbearable delight.

Alyn brushed a fingertip across her anus. The knot in her belly coiled tighter. He wriggled inside. The lewd intrusion triggered a wave of bliss. Everything unravelled, whipping her into a glorious new crisis.

Light cradled her, but only for an instant. Her body was fighting back, unwilling to release her. She moaned in frustration.

A drop of liquid touched her lips. “Open,” Zed murmured, his magnificent cock inches from her face. She pursed her lips around the bulb, licking off the fluid that gathered there, then yielded to his pressure and swallowed the rigid stalk of flesh. He tasted of salt, sweat and dried cum. He tasted human. His thrusts were firm but measured, giving her time to appreciate the velvet texture of his cock-skin and the inexorable hardness underneath.

She fondled Zed’s balls while he ploughed her mouth. Meanwhile, Alyn was busy below her waist. With uncharacteristic force, he hauled her to the edge of the seat and pressed her thighs back towards her shoulders. He held her there for long moments, open and exposed. She felt the tension build. Juices trickled from her cleft down to her tingling rear hole. The round knob of Alyn’s cock rubbed against her sphincter and she braced herself for penetration. At the last minute, though, he seemed to change his mind. Pulling back, he sank his cock deep into her soaked pussy.

Ah! She moaned around Zed’s cock. He took that as a signal to pump harder. Christine didn’t mind. She sucked with all her might, wanting to taste his cum, aware in some corner of her mind that this might be her last chance to do so.

Alyn drove into her in a strong, even rhythm. His cock danced inside her, waking every nerve. Christine clenched her muscles around his hardness. He swelled in response. Pleasure rippled through her as she was filled and emptied, above and below. She had come twice already but that didn’t seem to matter. Her body was hungry for more.

Every thrust pushed Christine closer to the edge. She couldn’t reach it, though. She wanted it too much—not just the pleasure but the freedom they’d promised her. What if she couldn’t do it, couldn’t break loose the way she had before? She didn’t care about dying, not much anyway. The thought of losing them, though, was a pain she could scarcely bear.

“Don’t worry, Christine.” Zed’s golden voice sliced through her anxious fog. “Relax, sweet. We love you. We’re not going to let you go.” He hadn’t actually spoken, but she’d heard him loud and clear.

“We are with you. All will be well.” Alyn’s silver tones sang in her mind, calming, soothing, even as he grunted between her legs. “We belong together, Christine.”

 
She let the tension flow out of her body.
I love you
, she broadcast, her mouth full of cock-flesh.
I trust you. Take me where I need to go.

Their bodies answered. Both men quickened their pace. Her hands gripped Zed’s thighs as he drove his cock down her throat. When his muscles tensed, her spirit soared.
Come, my love
, she telegraphed.
Please come.

He shuddered. His rod jerked against her tongue, then he exploded, flooding her with his bitter fluid. She swallowed hungrily, eager for every drop.

Zed was still spurting when Alyn yelled and buried himself to the hilt in her pussy. She felt the pulse in his cock as he emptied himself into her depths.
Yes
, she exulted, her mouth still busy with her other lover.
Yes, my darling.

Joy swelled in her chest until she thought she’d burst. She didn’t care what happened next. They were together now. Zed and Alyn had given her everything they had. Nothing else mattered.

All at once, without warning, she was tumbling into climax herself. Pleasure welled up from deep within, in shimmering waves that crested and broke and crested again. Rainbow veils danced before her eyes. Her body was liquid, molten, surging with each new eruption of bliss. The world dissolved, leaving her spinning in a whirlwind of ecstasy.

Through it all, she felt Zed and Alyn holding her close, keeping her safe. She might have been terrified by the intensity, but as sensation racked her, she knew she was not alone.

Silence. Stillness. Peace. Blackness surrounded and cradled her. She was not afraid.

Zed sang to her, flashing copper and gold through the dark. She laughed. Alyn wound around her, through her, a strand of glittering crystal. The three of them circled each other, spiralling higher, in an endless dance of love.

* * * *

Christine hung in space. Alyn and Zed were with her, as they would always be from now on. Below them, the
Archimedes
disintegrated in graceful slow motion. A crack opened along the top. Gases swirled out, freezing into icy clouds on contact with the frigid vacuum. A hunk of debris fell away, spinning lazily into the void.

“Let’s not watch anymore
,” Christine said. “
You’ve already seen one world destroyed.”

“Where should we go?”
Zed asked. “
Back to Earth?”

“No, there’s nothing left there for us. But I know another planet, in the Sirius B system. We could settle there for a while.”

“You want a new body.”
Alyn laughed in her mind. “
You miss being material.”

“Perhaps a bit. But, mostly, I want us to have children. We can’t do that as bodies of light. I want to people a new world and teach our children how to care for it.”

“We can’t unmake the past.”
Christine caught the sombre note in Zed’s thoughts.

“Of course not. But we can create any number of brilliant futures.”

She summoned the images from her memory to show them
. “The planet is here.”

They slipped into a crack between dimensions. Joined.