In Orbit - Ch. 01

In orbit

In orbit

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lauii decided to name the creature Buzan for no particular reason other than that she liked the name. It was a good name for a good creature. Indeed, the Zoklarssian race was known, from what they had gathered so far, to be primitive and hostile. But there was something different about Buzan, something Lauii could not quite explain. It had all the same tendencies, but somewhere behind its eyes, there was intelligence. She was sure Buzan would help her understand the Zoklarssians.

The team of seven researchers on board the research stationNew Discovery, had arrived in orbit around the mysterious planet Zoklarss some three months prior. The station housed a skeleton crew of seven scientists and technicians from all parts of The Federation, all part of a mission to study the planet's unique ecosystem and its dominant species, the Zoklarssians, large reptilian humanoids with intelligence that rivaled humans.

Buzan had been captured from the surface some seven days prior. During the surface expedition, the team successfully captured two male and two female Zoklarssian specimens. The creatures were transported to the station's high-security containment facility, where Lauii had been assigned as the lead researcher.

The first examinations did not yield good results. The creatures were hesitant and highly emotional under the pressures of their capture. All except Buzan, who seemed interested in this new environment. When the males and females were placed together, they became very hostile and attacked each other, leading to serious injuries among the female specimens, requiring Lauii to place each creature in separate holdings.

The documentation and examination of the creatures started out fine, and Lauii, as cold and cunning as she had always been, could not help but feel deep within her that there was humanity hidden somewhere within the Zoklarss. Mostly, it was Buzan's eyes that convinced her of this.

"How is he this evening?" New Discovery asked Lauii through her interface.

The simulated window screens that lined the walls of the vessel gave the illusion of a chill, sunny afternoon from Lauii's homeworld, but in reality, they were in the far reaches of uncivilized space, near the outer rim of the Terragen. No man's space.

"Buzan is good," Lauii replied, examining the planetary data of Zoklarss, trying not to think about the harsh reality that she would not be able to see her homeworld for quite some time.

"Still better than the others?"

"According to the monitors, yes. The two females are still in critical condition after the incident in the holding chamber, but they'll survive."

"What about the other male? The one that attacked the females."

"We're keeping him in a confined room and using sedatives to monitor the changes in his behavior."

"All seems well then."

"Always is up here."

New Discovery laughed. The vessel was not just a ship and crew, but rather, it was a living, interconnected intelligence, one that Lauii and the other six crew members were all connected through with their interfaces. Lauii was not fond of this; it was not the way she had been raised. According to her people back home, augments were not to be trusted. It was the main reason she could not return home. She had betrayed her people by signing up to be a researcher for the Federation.

Across from her, she viewed Buzan in his transparent holding cell. He sat, confused. They were similar, really, or at least she thought. Both homesick and unaware of what the future might hold. There were times when Lauii would want to bring Buzan back to the surface. He deserved it, but she couldn't, because she was only following orders and didn't want to risk treason.

She watched his eyes, and they watched hers. She could see through them, and suddenly, she felt as if Buzan could see through hers, too.

"I'm going in," she said suddenly.

"What? Are you sure?" New Discovery asked with genuine concern, something that machines usually did not have regarding biologicals.

"Yes..." she said, still transfixed by Buzan's innocent eyes.

The door slid open, and the creature stood up in fear.

Zoklarssians were bipedal and stood nearly eight feet tall. They had long claws, a heavy tail, and a long neck. Their skin is a dark grey, sometimes black, and their tongues, aswell as inner tissue, were often blue or purple colored.

Buzan had purple eyes and a long, hanging blue tongue. He hissed as Lauii entered the chamber, and the door slid shut behind her, locking completely.

"Hello, Buzan," she said.

Suddenly, Buzan hissed out what sounded like words.

Language, Lauii thought.

"So you can speak." She examined him from a distance. Why had it kept this secret? The language Buzan spoke was alien and sounded more like clicks and roars than real words, but she knew it was a language, a smoking gun signalling the intelligence of these creatures.

Buzan was evidently becoming more uncomfortable and fearful by Lauii's presence, even though his sheer size alone could crush her; the alien environment was enough to psychologically concern him. Another piece of evidence of his higher intelligence. He did not act strictly out of emotion like the other male.

"Easy, Buzan," Lauii tried to calm the creature. She approached slowly.

It let its guard down, and she touched its arm and began rubbing it. The slight amount of sedative gas that had been pumped into Buzan's chamber helped calm him. Lauii did not want to take any chances, and maybe Buzan was just the same as the other males without the drugs.

Lauii thought about its reaction, then suddenly she had the idea to introduce the other females to Buzan, and perhaps, it would turn out better than before.

She finished her meeting with Buzan and returned to the medical station, where Idena, the surgeon, was working to heal the females while also studying the anatomy.

"How are they?" Lauii asked.

Idena was caught by surprise, but was not startled. He turned to see his captain, then turned back to the monitors showing the skeletal structure of the Zoklarssians. "They're good," he replied, still focused on the screen. "They should be awake and back to health in a few hours. I examined their organs and did slight gene therapy." He looked back up at her. "There's something interesting about this species, captain."

"What is it?"

"They're genetic and physical makeup, such as the skeleton and the organs, are very similar to baseline humans."

She pondered.

"These might not be xenos like we thought. They might be splices."

"That would mean someone came here a long, long time ago then."

"Correct. Though I'm not one hundred percent certain, it just seems too similar to us for it not to be."

"Very well. Send the female to Buzan's chamber this afternoon, I want to observe them again."

"Again? Are you sure? They almost died in there."

"That was the other male, of which I believe we should dispose of or archive, since I believe it is of no use to us."

"Oh-... I... I see... Very well, I will send the female to the chamber this afternoon and notify you when she is awake and stable."

"Perfect."

That afternoon came sooner than expected. The female, still half conscious, was transported to the chamber where Buzan was also half conscious. Lauii watched from the observatory as Idena and Deonie-the crew's second behind Lauii-brought the creature into the room. They left as quickly as they could. It seemed they were more afraid of the creatures than Lauii was. She scoffed to herself.Cowards,she thought.

After a few minutes and a lower dosage of the sedatives, the creatures began to stir. The three researchers watched closely as Buzan rose, confused, and suddenly curious as to the new female in his chamber.

The researchers froze as they watched Buzan slowly approach the sleeping female. It could go one of two ways; either one of them dies, or they communicate.

Buzan inched closer, sniffing, touching, and eventually nudging at the sleeping female. She too then began to awaken, very slowly at first. As she finally rose, Buzan's eyes seemed to open wider. He was surprised, maybe excited to see another one of his kind alive. Lauii tried to place herself in the mind of Buzan. To think what he thought. The female did the same, though she seemed much more hesitant and frightened. She looked around, unaware of her surroundings or how she had arrived there. She called out with a saurian roar, classic amongst the Zoklarssians.

Minutes passed as the two aliens tried to communicate. From what Lauii could surmise, was that the two specimens could speak their own languages, but had been captured from different locations and thus were speaking completely different languages. The two Zoklarssians in the chamber were just as alien to each other as they were to the researchers.

"What now?" Idena asked.

"We let them be," Lauii replied.

"Very well."

After another hour, the researchers left. The day was done and it was time for the crew to sleep. Each researcher returned to their dorms one by one, until Lauii was the only one awake.

No matter how hard she tried to sleep, it simply wouldn't come. She needed to observe the specimens. She dressed herself again and ventured back to the holding chamber. She powered up the station and the observatory came online. A screen showing the room in crystal clear resolution. There, the two creatures were resting with each other. Using the simulated day and night cycles gathered from Zorklass's orbit allowed the creatures to keep their circadian rhythm. But this was not going to do. Not for Lauii.

She worked through the screens and flipped the simulation. Suddenly, the illusionary windows that showed a hyper realistic vision of the nighttime surface of Zoklarss turned to day. She buzzed the chamber, and Buzan and the female awoke from their rest, again, frightened as usual, but calm after a few minutes.

"Come on, do something."

She had to see something. She had to know more. She worked the console and pumped a special gas into the chamber. One that made the creatures relaxed.

Buzan began sniffing the female within minutes after the initial release of the gas. She resisted at first, but after another minute, she gave in to his advances. Lauii watched closely, fascinated, enthralled. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to see, but she knew they would show her something. But more prominently, she could not pull herself away as she observed Buzan mount the female from behind and begin mating with her. His two cocks, bright blue and slimy, began jutting out from his pelvic region. They found their way into the female's sex, and he began thrusting slowly.

Lauii felt her own body reacting to the scene. She felt a warmth in her abdomen, and her legs became weak. She couldn't resist the urge to touch herself, and before she knew it, she was rubbing her clit through her skin suit.

She stood and walked closer to the screen, her hand moving faster as she watched the two creatures mate. The female was moaning and writhing beneath Buzan, her tail flicking back and forth. Lauii could feel herself getting closer to orgasm as she watched. She wanted to be the one beneath Buzan, to feel his weight on top of her, to feel his two cocks inside her.

She came hard, her body shuddering as she watched the creatures finish. Buzan pulled out of the female, and Lauii could see his cum dripping from her slit. She wanted it. She needed it.

Buzan's two cocks dangled between his legs, thick and blue-veined, still wet from mating. Twin appendages, like those of ancient reptiles from Old Earth's fossil records, twitched slightly as Buzan settled beside the female, his breathing heavy. The sight sent another pulse of heat between Lauii's thighs, her fingers still pressed against her damp underwear. She bit her lip, watching the way his muscles flexed beneath his dark, scaled hide, the primal grace of his movements hypnotizing.

The female curled away, exhausted, leaving Buzan restless. His head lifted suddenly, nostrils flaring as if catching a scent. Lauii froze as his purple eyes locked onto the observation window, though he shouldn't have been able to see her through the one-way transparency. But the way his gaze burned into the glass made her stomach tighten. A low, rumbling growl vibrated from his chest, his claws flexing against the floor. The gas still lingered in the chamber, and Lauii realized, with a thrill of panic, that she hadn't shut off the ventilation.

She hit the switch immediately, a surge of realization and disgust washing over her.

What the hell am I doing?She thought. She shut down the station, returned it to the night cycle, and left the room as fast as she could.

Lauii did not know if she would sleep well or not that night.