Calley's Chrysalis

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Note #2: Also, thanks to volunteer Literotica editor TheNyxianLily for her help with editing.)

The crew's sleep was interrupted by the buzzing of a wake-up alarm the captain had set up during the crew's spacewalk. Groggily, Calley sat up and stretched her arms. The events of the previous day flooded back into her memory. It was difficult to believe so much had happened, but here she was, still surrounded by her nude shipmates. She was still getting used to how things had changed, but was excited and in a very happy mood as she followed her crewmates out of bed.

Alezanna opened the horizontal storage unit on the side of the bed and took out three robes. She handed a pink one to Calley and a grey one to the captain. The young spacer took hers but hesitated to put it on. She looked at the Bellixan and told her, "I can't. I'm under orders to remain naked."

"Did I say that?" Sal wondered aloud as he slipped on his robe. "Well, if I did, you can consider that order rescinded."

"But I can stay naked if I want to, right?" she asked. This elicited a giggle from Alezanna.

The captain turned to the mechanic and observed, "It's scary how quickly she adapted to her new situation."

"Like only a true spacer can," the Bellixan added before telling Calley, "You can stay undressed a little while longer. We could all use showers." Turning back to Collondo, she asked him, "Master, do you mind starting on breakfast while we wash up?"

"Good idea, pet," he said before adding, "No dilly-dallying. We've only got an hour before we have to get going again."

The trio made their way to the galley where Sal got started on cooking a quick meal. The two women headed towards the bathroom but Calley went past it after telling her companion she'd be along shortly. She made her way to the medbay where she went to the pharmaceutical dispenser. She took a glarobal acetate pill to ensure that last night's copulation with Sal did not lead to a pregnancy. She then mixed some hormones together and injected herself with the concoction. This would prevent her ovum from being fertilized by sperm for the next three sub-cycles. It was the same treatment she had created for many female patients, including, most recently, Alezanna. But it was her first time injecting herself with it. She paused for a moment to contemplate how much her life had changed in the last day. But she did not allow her thoughts to linger, as she knew she didn't have much time to waste.

She joined her female shipmate in the bathroom where Calley brushed her teeth before stepping under a shower spray next to Alezanna's. She quickly began washing herself as her companion asked her, "How are you feeling after last night? Any soreness?"

"Not really. You and Sal took good care of me. No, I just had to stop by the medbay to make sure we didn't get a new crewmember in nine sub-cycles."

The older woman stopped washing her hair to look at Calley. "You weren't on the cocktail?" she asked, referring to the hormonal mixture the medtech had just injected herself with.

"No. Didn't need to be until last night. The whole thing came out of nowhere."

"I didn't see it coming either," Alezanna agreed as she resumed cleaning her long hair. "But what about your period? The cocktail helps with the cramps."

"My cramps never bothered me that much. It's a Gynapsi thing."

"Be careful who you share that information with. The Gynapsi have enough problems without every other woman in the universe envying your mild cramps and perfect breasts."

Calley let out a chuckle and the two said nothing for a minute as they continued washing themselves. Then, Alezanna told her copper-haired shipmate, "You're a lucky young woman. My first time was all fumbling, embarrassment, and disappointment. And, I think, more pain than you showed. It seems you had a much easier time of it than I did. Though I can't complain, because I certainly enjoyed myself last night. We won't be able to all be together when we get back underway because one of us will always have to be on watch in the cockpit. But that doesn't mean the other two can't have some fun on their own. Unless, of course, you're not interested in being with me without Sal involved as well."

"Oh I'm definitely interested! I'll just need you to take it easy on me at first. My only experience with sex, aside from last night, is the dirty holo-vids and I never really watched the girl-on-girl stuff. So you know more about that than I do."

"You overestimate me. Last night was my first time with a woman as well as yours."

"Really?" the young medic asked in surprise. "You sure seemed to know what you were doing. I thought for sure you'd done it before."

"Not with a woman, no. I'd never met one I wanted to make love to until you. Oh, I was attracted to a few in the past. But never enough to actually take any action on it. Of course, I'd evaluate a woman's body when I was designing a dress for her. Sometimes, I caught myself evaluating a little more than I needed to. But before I altered your red one, it had been a long time since I'd made dresses for someone besides myself. And never had I let myself get emotionally attached to a woman."

"Well, I'm glad I was the one you picked," Calley told her. She reached out to take Alezanna's hand and squeeze it. She wanted to pull her into an embrace but remembered the captain's request that they not take too much time in the shower. She feared that touching her new lover's naked body would lead to their passions rising. So instead, she let go of her companion and returned to washing herself.

"So am I," Alezanna said. "Before yesterday, I'd never thought of sharing Sal with anyone. And I'd never imagined Sal letting someone else have their way with me. So it was definitely a night of firsts. Your first time and my first threesome. And while I don't know for sure, I'd be willing to wager that the same holds true for Sal. I have difficulty imagining him with someone other than myself, let alone two women at once. Or even two men, for that matter."

Calley summoned up her courage and asked Alezanna, "What does that make us now? Are we still friends or have we become something more serious?"

The veteran spacer turned off the water on her shower and began drying herself off. "Definitely more serious. I've had many friends throughout the cycles. But I care for you far more. When you said you fantasized about me yesterday in the cockpit, it drew out a whole slew of emotions I hadn't realized were even there. I'm still taking stock of how I feel about you, but it's definitely more than a friendship. We can sort things out in the next few days. Assuming we survive the rest of our trip, of course. There's no point in getting tangled up in our feelings if we're just going to end up as space dust by dinnertime."

Despite the grimness of the scenario Alezanna was postulating, she had a slight smile on her face as she put on her white robe. She left the bathroom, leaving Calley to finish her shower. After a few minutes, the Gynapsi turned off the water, dried herself and slipped on her borrowed robe before joining her crewmates in the galley. She and the older woman ate a simple meal of sausage and eggs while Sal, having already finished, stepped away to take his own shower.

After their meal, the women quickly washed and stowed away their plates and the few pans the captain had left behind. That done, they made their way to the cockpit where Alezanna examined the navigation computer while Calley did a final check of the ship's systems. Eventually, Sal rejoined them and took his seat at the pilot's controls. With an eye on a chronometer display counting down the time, he asked his first mate (a title that now had more than one meaning), "How's it looking, pet?"

Alezanna answered, "We've got enough navigation data to get to the next system, I think. The zaireon signals went beyond the sensors' range. Let's hope they gave us what we needed."

"Should be enough to make our first jump," Collondo said as he started flipping switches and firing up the engines. As the chronometer reading ticked away the final moments, he announced, "No point in waiting around here anymore. Might as well get this old crate moving again. Say goodbye to the Tayoel system, ladies."

The starfield outside the ship's canopy shifted as Sal fully turned on the Hi-Vel engines. Both Calley and Alezanna held their breath, waiting to feel the ship smash apart as it collided with something at high speed. Nothing happened beyond the feeling of the ship accelerating, so they both exhaled loud enough for the captain to notice. He spun his chair around to look at them and said, "You know, it's not like anything we run into is going to happen at the start of our jump. It could happen any time. But it won't, of course, because space is just one big mass of emptiness. There's not much to do until we run out of nav data and have to stop and start the calculations all over again. We might wanna get started on repairs that we can do from inside the ship.

"There's not much we can do," the Bellixan informed him. "We used almost all our spare parts during our spacewalk. There's really nothing we'll be able to get accomplished until we reach Rangxu and get into a decent repair facility. Preferably one in orbit. I'll check to see what the library computer knows about whether or not the planet has an orbiting spaceport."

"It does," Sal informed her. "A lot of 'em, actually. I stopped there a couple of times before you and I met. Rangxu's an important trade hub but the planet itself is pretty untouched. Our contact, Margie, is one of the few who has a dock on-planet. We're supposed to drop off her cargo there but hopefully I can talk her into somewhere in orbit instead. There were over a dozen stations last time I was there and she has to have a dock on at least one of 'em. I just hope we don't go broke getting the ship moored and fixed up." He turned to Calley and asked her, "What's our current speed?'

She checked her instruments and announced, "Regular Hi-Vel speed. Same as we've always gotten. You were right, Alezanna. There was nothing wrong with the Hi-Vel engines. Lo-Vel speed and maneuverability may have taken a hit, but we can still skip across systems as well as we normally do. It's a shame the entire ship wasn't built like the Hi-Vel engine casings."

"Gods forbid!" the captain said. "Promethean steel is crazy expensive, not to mention heavy as the seven Hells. The ship already drags its ass when we fly in gravity. If we were covered in Promethean steel, it'd be like trying to keep a brick in the air."

"It's true," Alezanna agreed. "Even with our reactor behind them, there's no way our thrusters could keep us aloft if we were that heavy. Better to be fragile and fast."

"It's served us well in the past," the captain continued. "But if our Hi-Vel capacity is as good as it always is, that's good news. It means, once we get the sensors up to snuff, we can start running cargo again even if our Lo-Vels are still banged up."

"I still worry about the topside guns," Alezanna advised. "We may have to replace one of the sets of cannons. Bad enough to be running slower than normal. If we get ambushed like that and undergunned as well, I wouldn't like our chances."

"No argument there, pet," Collondo agreed. "But depending on how much this overhaul ends up costing us, we might have to start runs again before the ship is back in tip-top shape. You know as well as I do how much it costs to get parts for this crate."

The dark-haired spacer nodded thoughtfully before proclaiming, "Well, there's no point in putting the cargo before the motor. Let's see if we can reach Rangxu alive before we worry about our finances. Why don't you two let me take the first watch. I have a lot of thoughts to put in order."

Sal quizzically arched an eyebrow at her but declined to question the mechtech about these thoughts. He looked over at Calley and told her, "I think we've been dismissed."

He got up and moved towards the cockpit entrance indicating Calley should follow him with a nod of his head. She moved behind him and the two made their way to the common area. He turned to her and asked her, "Is there anything urgent you need to do in the next little while?"

"No, the systems I know how to fix would need me to be outside. And like Alezanna said, I just don't have the repair parts I need to do much good. I don't know if there's anything going on in Rangxu that I need to inoculate us against. It's weird to say, but for the first time in a very long while, I think we're nothing more than passengers on this run."

The captain nodded and told her, "it does feel strange not to have anything to do, doesn't it? When we get to the next system, I'm gonna have to take some time to send out a new zaireon signal pulse and calculate our course again. But since it seems we have hours of downtime to fill, how'd you like to join me in the hot tub? I know we both just took showers, but I think a nice long soak will help your stress.

"That sounds nice. I think we all need to relax, what with how we're traveling and, you know--"

"The state of the ship?" Sal finished for her as the two made their way to the bathroom. "Don't let it get you down. When I first bought the Ravenfang, she was in far worse shape. I hadn't refined my trading instincts yet but I managed to survive and build the ship up to a decent state. And I didn't have a great mechtech at my disposal back then. Or, for that matter, a medic who can help out too. It's not gonna be an easy time for the next few sub-cycles, but we'll manage. You'll see."

Having reached the hot tub, the two shipmates removed the tarp covering it. Calley went to the water temperature controls and asked Sal, "How hot do you like it?"

"Three ticks below maximum."

She adjusted the controls accordingly and stated, "That's awfully hot. You want me to go grab some shellfish out of the galley? We can cook it in here with the water so hot."

"Old man, old bones, Calley. And these old bones like the heat. And speaking of things I like..."

He moved over to her and undid the sash of her robe. He took it off her, leaving her standing there nude. He looked her over with a look of appreciation on his face. She wondered what he would do next and was slightly disappointed when he moved away to hang up her robe on an elevated cabinet's handle. He then removed his own robe and hung it up as well. He turned back to her and she saw his penis was hanging down in a flaccid state. He moved to her, took her right hand in his left and helped her into the tub's water. It was still heating up but wasn't too cold. He let go of her hand and moved into the water with her.

The two snuggled up to one another and she took his member into her right hand. "Leave it," he told her. "Plenty of time for that later on. Right now, let's just soak and talk."

She let go of his hardening cock and said, "Okay, but y'know, the ship wasn't what I was thinking about. Oh, I know we're not in the greatest of shape, but I'm sure we can get out of the starcred trouble. Maybe I'm selfish, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around what we did last night."

"I hope you're not having regrets."

"Oh Gods no! Whenever I thought about how I'd lose my virginity, I never imagined it could go as well as it did. To be honest, when I was on my other postings, I was half-convinced I'd end up losing it against my will. I tried not to think about it, but it was something that scared me a lot. Now that it's done, not only am I happy with what happened, I'm looking forward to doing it again. But I'm not sure if I should be. I mean, you and Alez are together and I'm not sure how I fit into this now."

The older man nodded and asked her, "Can I give you a piece of advice?" After she nodded, he told her, "Don't think about this so much. When it comes to relationships, I've learned the hard way that the more you examine 'em, the less you enjoy 'em. Of course, that's easy for me to say 'cause, like you said, Alezanna and me are together. So I don't have to think about what I have with her. I've known what it is for a long time now, and I've enjoyed every moment of it. As for how you fit into it, you can fit in however you want. When you wanna be with me, be with me. When you wanna be with her, be with her. I know how she feels about you. I know how I feel about you too. Neither one of us is ever gonna turn you away. And I don't think you're gonna have a problem when Alez and I are together, will you?

"No, of course not. You make it sound so simple. Can it really be so easy?"

"Why not? I love Alezanna. And in the last cycle and change, I've grown to love you too. It's the same with her. She may not have realized how she felt about you, but I could see it."

"Really? She says she didn't realize it until last night in the cockpit. When I talked about fantasizing about her."

"Well, not to toot my own horn," he said with a smile, "but I think I saw how much she loved you way before she realized it. When you admitted to fantasizing about her yesterday, I took the opportunity to get her thinking about it. Remember, I've had to learn how to read people pretty quick to help with my negotiations. It often helps me if I can figure out what they're thinking and what they're feeling. With Alezanna, I've had cycles to study what she does, why she's doing it, and how she feels about a lotta things. No, she's been in love with you for a while. When you broke down after Palcon and she watched over you, I could see it. And when I floated the idea of making you a partner, she jumped right for it. She wanted you to have that future with us. Not just for you, but for her too. She knew it was a way to keep you connected with us more than just being an employee."

"What about you? When did you know you were in love with me?"

"I'm not sure," he answered before smiling and adding, "Seeing you in that red dress probably helped things along. And seeing your chest with your jumpsuit open yesterday didn't hurt either."

She let out a laugh and gave his chest a small slap, splashing some water in both their faces. "Men!" she admonished him with a smile. "Tits are all you care about!"

"Not true!" he said with mock indignation. "I also think about asses!" After Calley laughed at the admission, he added, "And starcred. I think about starcred a lot."

She smiled at that before turning back to something he'd said before. "So if you knew Alez was in love with me back then, why didn't you say anything to her about it?"

"Didn't see much point to it," he told her with a shrug. "I figured she'd realize it on her own eventually. And to be honest, it's not like I spent a lotta time worrying about it. When it comes to matters of the heart, like I said, it's best not to think too much. I spent a lotta time thinking about what I wanted from a relationship before my first marriage, and that turned out not to help me at all. I thought I knew what I wanted, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Of course, I was pretty much the same age as you back then, and I guess I understand why you think you need to analyze this. So if you have any questions or comments you wanna make, I'm all ears. Let's get 'em outta the way."

Calley thought about it for a few moments and gathered up her courage. "Well," she began, "there is one thing that I've been wondering about quite a bit. If we're gonna be together, and I really want us to be, should I be calling you 'Master'?"

The captain thought about it for a second before answering, "No, I don't think so. That's something I needed when Alezanna and I got together. And I still like hearing her call me that. But it's different with you. I think it's mostly because you're younger than me. This is a new thing for me, being with a younger woman. Before you, every woman I was with was older than me."