The Passage (Rauk x ScifiNudist)

Octavia Dumonte glided through the long access tunnel to the control deck. The pilot, Allissa, turned briefly to acknowledge Octavia and then snapped her eyes back on her controls. "Should be coming into view now," Allissa noted.

"I see it," Octavia said, grinning as she pulled herself closer to the copala windows. "Coming up a bit fast, aren't we?"

Allissa shrugged. "Lunars are less jumpy than Earthers - this station's Lunar built and Lunar run. They don't mind if we come in at a brisk walk."

High above the Lunar surface, the bulbous cargo shuttle crept toward the huge sickle shaped station - an incomplete wheel which, when finished, would allow for up to 1 G centrifugal gravity at the rim and a much more forgiving 1/6th G in the wheel's mid levels. "She's gonna be massive when she's done."

"And busy! Every single hab and berth are booked up a decade in advance, even the ones which aren't built yet! Lunars, Spacers - everyone wants to have their babies in 1 G."

Octavia scoffed. "They should go back to Earth, then."

"And who has money for that?" Allissa laughed. She punched in a few commands into her screen. "Selene One, Selene One. This is Cargo Shuttle Cyclops, Lima-Echo-Oscar One-Seven-Zero-Niner, on approach."

"We see you Shuttle Cyclops. Please cut relative velocity at one kilometer and await pilotage pods."

"Acknowledged, Selene One, transmitting log and inspection handshake now, see you soon."

While Allissa was punching out commands, Octavia gripped the headrest of her friend's chair and pulled herself in to give the pilot a kiss on the cheek. "See you out there, hotshot."

Allissa smiled and pulled up against her harness a little to kiss Octavia back, a quick, friendly peck. "See you out there next time around, beautiful girl. In two years you owe me a welcome drink on Mars, yeah?"

"I'll get the place ready for you!" Octavia said, already floating back aft to the hab-module. She tucked her legs in and allowed herself to bump gently, bare butt down, into the padded "landing" in the middle of the hab alcoves. She allowed herself to drink up toward the hand-holds and, gripping them, slid her alcove open with a bare foot, swung her body, feet first into her alcove. The berth was small even by cargo shuttle standards, but on mining ships she had become used to much less space. On her last flight out to Pallas her berth had been an alcove just 172 by 72 by 71 centimeters, a little bigger than a coffin, and that had been for two people at a time, and hot-bunked with another two crewmembers on the mirror shift. In comparison, the two meter long alcove aboard the Cyclopse was all hers for the leasurely eight day resupply run between Helios Station and Selene One.

She packed her personal belongings, such as they were, into a 25 centimetre long zippreed plastic bag - toiletries, a few printed photographs and mementos, her charm bracelet with small stones from every orbital body she'd visited - Pallas, Eros, Ceres, Cruithne, Luna. Now, after eight years of working as a miner, after nine years in space, she would finally get to go to Mars - not to visit, not as a tourist, but as a colonist, aboard an luxurious Earther colony ship - the perks of being a loyal, long time company girl.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and pulled on a cloth glove with an attached bracer she strapped around her forearm. She holstered her phone in this bracer and looked around the cubicle to see if she'd forgotten anything. There was a ship's flight-suit Allissa had broken out of the hold to give to her, seeing as Octavia did not own any casual clothes, otherwise, but Octavia had politely declined, leaving it stowed and velcroed to the wall attachment point in the cubicle.

Naked, save her bag and arm holster for her phone, she floated over to the airlock and pulled on the pressure suit the ITS office had provided her with at Helios Station - it was white and light blue, corporate logos all over it, but beautiful and newer than any suit she had worn in half a dozen years. It had O. DUMONTE stencilled across the back and on a name-patch over the chest. On the left shoulder the red, green and blue patch of the Martian Colonial Flag was affixed. On the other shoulder was a squarer, more symmetrical flag patch, the flag of the Solar Mining Corporation, for which she still technically worked, and would represent now on Mars for, at least, the remaining five julians (earth years) of her contract once she reached the red planet.

She tested her headset, made sure it was synched to both her phone and suit radio, made sure the screen inside her helmet was also synched to both systems, then locked the helmet into place, breathed deep, and waited as she adapted to the one atmosphere of pressure. She could feel her suit automatically tighten as the air-pressure inside her suit slowly rose over the forty-five minutes it took for the Cyclops to be guided in to the Selene One's port.

When the time finally came close to depart, she could see the docking tunnel stretching toward them through the small windows on the inner and outer airlock doors.

"We have hard-dock," Allissa said in her ear.

"Confirmed," Octavia said after a quick check of the physical readouts. "Air looks... to be cycling."

Another fifteen minutes and Octavia's suit was up to one atmosphere of pressure, and the suit itself was struggling hard not to simply balloon up like a starfish, Octavia's arms and legs sticking ridget out from her body. Cargo ships ran on low pressure, mostly oxygen atmospheres for reasons of cost and ease of operation - if they needed to go check something in the hold, which was exposed to hard vacuum, it was more convenient to be able to put on a suit quickly, than have to futz about with equalizing between cabin and suit pressures. A passenger ship, though, a pure, Earther passenger ship, made for people who had spent the entire lives in one G, one atmosphere environments. Originally the ITS line was designed for pampered, rich, upper-class Americans and Europeans who were bored with life and Earth and so bought themselves new lives on the frontier. Now, with all of the "first wave" and "second wave" colonists, mostly rich Earthers, scientists and support staff, having paved the way for the "third" and "fourth wave" colonists, a mix of upper class Earthers and those who had been saving most of their lives in order to afford passage, the "fifth wave" was prepping to fly out to the frontier with full Martian Colonial Citizenship.

The seal on the inner airlock door banged open and swung open for Octavia to pull herself in. This done, it swung shut, it's lock banging a hard seal back in place as the air-pressure inside slowly rose to one atmosphere. Octavia's ears popped inside her suit as her limbs felt less and less stiff, the air of the lock becoming more or less equal to the air pressure in her suit. Now able to better move her arms, she readjusted the strap of her small bag, clipped to an epaulette at her shoulder, but still in an odd and troubling position that felt like it was not secured.

When the outer door "popped", she floated through the blindingly bright tunnel toward the station's hub, past the unpressurised cargo area where, already, the Cyclops's cargo was greedily being collected by the station's automated drone workforce. She reached the inner hub, she passed through another set of airlocks, and entered a different type of world entirely than she had become accustomed to. Inside the cavernous pressurized area there were dozens and dozens of people, red and orange suited ships' crews, silver suited station personnel, and blue suited tourists and colonists in transit. Octavia wished she had a red pressure suit, so she could more easily stand out as a Martian Citizen, and not some rich Earther on a Lunar sightseeing tour. All around there were Earthers, laughing and struggling to move about the huge area efficiently.

She hurried through the conjested commercial port, along the temporary guidelines which had been strung, using it to keep herself in the correct course, and occasionally using it to pull herself along. A great of rowdy Earthers came bowling into her line, out of control, sending turbulence down the cable and necessitating her to stop and hang on as station personnel came by to rescue the laughing, floundering tourists.

Even through her helmet she could hear the cacophony of voices created by the mass of humans in the wide open space. She kept her helmet on to avoid being overwhelmed by the crowd. Stretching her mind back through her memories she realized it had been years since she had been in a room with more than ten people in it at any given time - and those were for special events like weddings and funerals.

Following the signage on the floating screens held in place by robotic "Floaters", she finally found her way to Berth #5 and removed her helmet. She was a pale woman, with short, cropped platinum-blonde hair and green hazel eyes. She was tall and lean, having spent her entire life after 18 in free-fall, with the rare exception of a trip down to Luna. The asteroids she had visited, even mighty Ceres, had all less than 3% of one G. Her body was thin, her face looked as slightly thin, with prominent cheekbones. The faces of the Earthers around her, however, were all flushed and puffy, like they had colds, their bodies still not being used to the change in blood flow. If Octavia ever returned to Earth, she would look sickly, gaunt and emaciated. Instead, in the flushed faced grip of microgravity, her thinness balanced this facial condition, making her look as though she had just stepped away from a 1 G environment moments ago.

"Welcome, hold out your arm, please," the ITS employee said at the airlock. Octavia did so, and received a pleasant beep and green flash of light when the man brought his scanner close to Octavia's phone. "And please look here, Ms. Dumonte."

Octavia looked into the retinal scanner. Again she was ingratiated by a pleasing mechanical beep.

"Do you need us to ferry over any additional luggage?" a second employee asked.

"Thank you, no. This is it." The two ITS employees nodded appreciatively. They were recognizably, to Octavia, at least, Spacers. The man looked as though he had lived and worked in freefall at least as long as Octavia. The second, a woman, was well over six feet, and had a far different facial structure than a woman who had been born on Earth. She was clearly a member of the first generation born in the European "Lunar Village". A young woman of about twenty, though Octavia, in different settings, might have mistaken her for either a woman in her thirties or a teenager. Bodied developed so differently in a different environments.

She was shown into the airlock by a third employee, cycled through to the ship's air, and was shown to her quarters on the mid-deck of the massive vessel. It was the largest single living space she had had all to herself since leaving Earth. She floated in the faux-wood panelled area, lit by brilliant lighting. She had her own - well, half of her own, window. Shelves that would work in microgravity and the gravity of Mars. Her home for the next year and a half, the next six in microgravity, actually being there, in the room, on the ship, was enough to make her tear up a little.

Not wishing to indulge in sentimentality any longer, she stowed her gear, peeled out of her pressure suit, stowed it, and floated out into the central tunnel and up to the observation lounge for a celebratory drink and to ogle and the panoramic view of Luna, the Earth and the stars beyond. She was nearly on her way to the rest of her life.

“Nice move, old man.” The younger partner said, moving one of his pawns forward, carefully making sure the magnetic bottom of the game piece attached firmly to the board.

“They don’t call me ‘Geoff, the Grandmaster’ for nothing.” The raspy voiced elderly man made his move as he inspected the anchored chess table. “Excited to see your parents again, Ben?” He added, watching as the young man was concentrating hard, lost in thought about his next move. Both were leisurely floating still next to the game board on opposite ends, tethered by a small black cable clipped to their belts.

“Huh? Oh sorry. Yeah, It’s a bummer about space travel. I don’t get why I couldn’t just come with them in the first place.” Benedict moved another piece, as his mind wandered.

The grey haired, stocky built man grinned as he moved one of his bishops to take Ben’s Knight. “Check mate.” He declared, before coughing into his curled-up fist. “Maybe next time you’ll have your mind more focused on the game?” Reaching out to offer a handshake with his other arm, he smiled.

“Didn’t see that one coming, you are good.” Benedict’s younger voice spoke, as his hand met Geoff’s for a shake. Unfortunately, his inexperience with micro gravity space flight got the better of him, and his firm shake sent him slowly floating across the board, his elbow knocking off several game pieces from their magnetic placements.

“Whoa there, Ben. Easy.” Geoff caught him by the shoulders, as he had known to brace himself properly beforehand. “Still not used to micro-G are we?” The old man chuckled, trying to save his younger friend and occasional chess opponent some embarrassment. “You’ll get used to it. Just be careful.” Ben nodded, as he managed to collect the chess pieces that were starting to float away.

“I think I’ll head over to the bar now, I’ve been meaning to try my first adult beverage.” Ben said quietly, unlatching the tether cable, and pressing the button. The cable spun back into the table and clicked in place as he let go. Thinking of this idea as though it were going to be an accomplishment, he looked around for the correct direction, oriented himself.

“It’s hard to believe you’re old enough to drink now. Try and go easy on it, alright? I’ll see you tomorrow for a rematch.” The old man said, as he began resetting the pieces back to their starting positions. Ben looked over to the man, who was now floating almost perpendicular to him, and put his hand up in gesture of a friendly goodbye.

“Seeya!” He said, pushing off once the coast was clear. Moving past several people, his impatient mind chose to cut clear across the room, as opposed to taking the safe route with guide rails around the sides. Although cutting it close a couple of times, Ben managed to grab hold of a piece of railing just next to the central tunnel. Since his trajectory was miscalculated, the boy ended up several feet from the entrance, and had to pull himself the rest of the way. Finally making his way through the tunnels, he found himself drifting into the observation lounge where there were several people enjoying various drinks and having casual chit chats in groups. It was still an odd concept to him, to see people floating around above and below him, oriented all in different ways. This was the first time in Ben’s life that he had been in this sort of environment, and any experienced astronaut would notice him sticking out like a sore thumb. It would take him a while to adjust, and he had even been skipping some of his mandatory exercises, to keep his body’s physiology in line, almost as if he were making light of his situation. He had not worked for, or paid anything for his ticket aboard the ITS, afterall.

“I’ll take… I dunno, what do you recommend?” The eighteen-year-old said, a little nervous as he spoke to one of the bar tenders. The tall man grinned, and tossed him a mysterious drink, which he failed to catch. “Gee, thanks… Just put it on my parents’ tab. The Wilsons.” Ben said, not thinking before he shoved off to catch the container in his hands. As he grasped the unfamiliar container of alcohol, he found himself lost in gazing at the gorgeous view of Luna, and the Earth. For a moment, he slowly drifted, starting to think about how he had left everything he’s ever known behind, to literally move out of the world. Before it hit him that he had lost control of his movement, he turned around to face the direction he was drifting just in time to slowly float right up against a stranger.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” He said, frantically reaching out to steady himself. His orientation was upside down in comparison to her, and his face hit right against her thighs from behind. To top it all off, she was nude! Ben’s face quickly turned white as he had never seen a fully nude woman before in real life, nor did he realize that sort of thing is legal on the ITS. Her beautifully shaped bum was now inches from his face, which caused more panic, leading to him grabbing her side with his free hand. Her skin felt soft as he attempted to steady himself once more, reaching around to grope her stomach, not meaning to be a pervert, but having no other way to stop. For what felt like ages, his hand had been all over her stomach, and the side of her hip before he realized how weird the situation was. Looking downward toward the general direction of the lady’s head, his inexperienced, puffy face smiled awkwardly. “Hi, ma’am. The name’s Benedict Wilson.” He said, somehow managing to not stare at her private areas for now.

An ITS is a strange, hybrid creature of a spacecraft, designed to launch from the surface of planets, fly between planets and land again. Octavia had never before flown on any other craft so ridiculously overbuilt. Every other craft she had flown on were either surface to orbit or orbit to orbit vessels with a singular, modular purpose in mind. The ITS, on the other hand, were true all purpose spaceships, and luxuriously appointed with room and accommodations. In the uppermost parts of the ship there was, at the top, a gigantic dome of an observation deck with a geodesic, panoramic window. This, at least, Octavia could understand, it being mostly empty space, it was essentially an atmospheric fairing that served double duty as a recreation area, adding only marginal weight to the overall ship. But the level of facilities below the observation deck, additional restaurants, a separate gymnasium, a spa, were, even as she passed them by and saw them with her own eyes, unbelievable to the seasoned space-miner.

She floated up the tunnel and into the open common area, and immediately had to grip the side of the tunnel with hands and feet, a futile reflex, as though she were about to be sucked out into space.

"Um, excuse me?"

Octavia's heart was racing, her breathing quick and laboured.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

Octavia whipped her head back, startled to look at the man hanging behind her in the tunnel.

"You, uh, you mind if I just squeeze past?" The man was tubby and flushed, his face looking as though he was having an alergic reaction, his eyes tiny, lost in his swollen, overstuffed face.

Octavia recoiled from the sight of the Earther and flipped herself with one hand on the lip of the tunnel both into the observation deck and away from the man. She took a deep breath and made an effort to steady her breathing. It was a very large space to be in without a space suit - a larger space than she had ever been in, since leaving Earth, without the comfort of a helmet close at hand.

It was a disconcerting feeling, and for the first time in years, she felt very exposed. She felt very naked.

"Octavia!"

At the wall, Octavia, put a bare foot against the wall and pivoted, looking up. Coming her way were a couple of familiar faces, and, despite her discomfort, she smiled. "Els! Martin! How are you!" She clasped armed with Els as she floated in close enough and, her foot under a handhold in the wall, pulled her friend to the surface of the outer wall. Martin reoriented himself with a handhold.

"Doing well! Looks like we'll be shipmates all the way to the Red!"

"I had no idea you two would be on this passage! How wonderful! Are you staying?"

"I am, Martin's got another passage to make before his citizenship offer, but we've done long distance before," she joked. The term "long distance" was an understatement, given that Martin had, for a time, been posted as medical officer on Callisto while Els had been medical officer on the Mercury outpost, their relationship kept going for the better part of a decade via correspondence alone.

"Well I'm glad for the company. Oh, I see you're both official ITS staff now. Do you have a proper cabin? Or are you both in the crew compartments?"

"I've a cabin, sharing it with this one. Company likes saving space where it can. I'm sure they'd be thrilled if we had agreed to take another company employee to bunk with us for the duration of the flight, rest of the crew would certainly be happy, more space for them!" Els laughed.

Octavia re-positioned herself so Martin and Els could press their backs to the outer wall. Martin's hand holding her ankle (and stopping her from flying off) she situated herself so she was floating just before them, her back to the middle of the large open space. "I was so worried I wouldn't know anyone on this flight - so many Earthers in this lot, I was worried I have to go down to the crew areas to get any sensible conversation or company."

"Well, you've got us!" Martin assured her. "You're always welcome in our cabin, Octy," he winked.

"I'm so glad. I'm also..." Octavia stopped and looked at Els, who looked as though she was trying, desperately, to stifle a laugh.

"What? What is it?"

Before Octavia could turn around and see what Els was looking at, another human body collided into her at that moment, pushing her into the wall. Els and Martin spread apart to avoid becoming part of the dogpile. Hitting the wall, very softly, Octavia, sputtering and swearing, pushed off and allowed Els and Martin to catch her by the ankle and wrist to stop her from flying off, slowly, into the central area of the room.

"What the fuck is this!?" she shouted at the hand gripping her stomach and her thigh.

A head popped forward from between her legs. "Hi, ma'am. The name's Benedict Wilson," said the face looking up at her from between her legs.

She could feel his breath on her crotch his face was so close to it. "What the fuck kind of koala are you?" She saw the level to which the young man's face was swollen and sighed. Another Earther. "Are you really so lost in freefall that you find yourself gripping the first solid object you come across?" she scolded.

Els was having fits of laughter. "Looks like you've found your cabin-mate."

Octavia sighed and reached down to grip the young man's collar. "Let go of me, boy." She pulled him up, from between her legs, and pressed him back against the wall, between Els and Martin. She put a steadying hand on his chin and looked at him. "Well, he's handsome enough, for an flush-faced Earther, anyway. What do you think, boy-o? Do you think you could keep up with me in my cabin? Think you could get it up in microgravity yet? You're already grabbing my butt, do you think you can follow through?"

Of all people he could have bumped into in this micro-gravity space bar, Ben had to go and get himself in a situation with the nude woman. She easily pulled him up and around to push him against the wall, where he looked her in the eye for a moment, before his gaze started to wander. He glanced down the curves of her thin body, half ignoring the people around him. Only focused on her, he gulped before responding.

"Koala? I uh..." Through her verbal onslaught, he attempted to get words into the conversation, but struggled to find the words to come back with. "I'm sorry, I just grabbed the first thing that I came in contact with." He knew it wouldn't justify what he'd done, and it was as obvious as the nose on his face that he was a puff-faced Earther.

Just as the woman asked him about whether or not he could 'get it up' in micro-gravity, his young body was already working on answering the question for him. Slowly, the front portion of his shorts began to rise. His manhood thickened, and became engorged to the point where it was completely obvious that the answer was 'yes.' It felt as though it was beyond Ben's control, the fact that he was almost instantly massively erect. Afterall, he was an inexperienced, eighteen year old boy who was being teased by a very attractive, nude woman.

"I think you have your answer." He glanced downward between them, then back up to her, with a semi sickly look in his flushed face. "Keep up with you in your cabin? I've never been in a girl's room before." He admitted, looking away. Ben was now looking around and noticed there were people staring at them from all directions. They seemed to be gawking at what a scene he had made, rather than the fact that the woman he was talking to wasn't wearing any clothing. It would take some getting used to, seeing nudists on board.

"You've made your point. I get it, I'm fresh off the Earth. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get out of your way." He said, half embarrassed from so easily sprouting such a large, throbbing erection. Otherwise, he was mildly annoyed and wanted to float back to his cabin to finish his drink. Pushing off from the wall, in the general direction of the tunnels, he managed to grab hold of the railing and orient himself properly. Ben was afraid to look back, since the group he had just left were most likely laughing at him. The boy just wanted to be left alone after such an embarrassing encounter, although he couldn't shake the thought of this woman's body from his mind. By the time he made his way to the living quarters, he was having a difficult time locating his own cabin.

"You've got to be kidding me... Ugh, this place all looks the same, I'll never be able to find mine." Having since finished his drink, the boy felt somewhat intoxicated. "I knew that was going to be a mistake." He squinted his eyes, failing to read the signs to get direction. Unable to get his bearings, Mr. Wilson found himself just slowly tumbling down the tunnel, no longer caring what he bumped into, or where he was going.

"I think you made him cry," Els remarked after the Earther had left the observation deck.

"He'll grow on it," Martin shrugged. "Come on, Octy, come join us for a little drink, yeah?"

"No..." Octavia sighed. "I think Els is right, I'd better go make sure he isn't crying to his mommy and daddy about the mean spacer - they can afford to have their kid shipped out to the Red, so..."

"Fair enough," Els agreed. "Don't want to start out with enemies."

Octavia snorted as she kicked off and headed aftward. "Yeah, plus I think someone should sort that boy out before he koala's up on someone without my cheerful disposition."

"Such a philanthropist," Martin teased. "Drinks are on us when you've got time."

"I look forward to that," Octavia shouted across the chamber as she entered the tunnel. She shot down the passage aft, occasionally tapping the wall with her fingertips to keep herself on course and to renew her momentum. She caught the lip of the passenger deck access and swung herself over the edge and in. The rows of well lit cabins, their brilliant wooden finishes glinting with polish, were a thing of loveliness, framed in smooth white plastic, signs with crisp, friendly letters stipulating safety and navigational information - she floated around the curved corridor, drinking it in. When she got to the end, without seeing the earther, she went back the way she had come until she reached other end.

He could be in his cabin, and without knowing which one was his she would have no way of finding him without knocking on cabin doors. A thought struck her and she returned to the central passage, pushing off further aft to the crew area. Reaching the bottom she consulted the sign and pulled herself through one of the six radiating passages toward the purser's compartment. The purser, if he or she was aboard yet, would have a complete passenger manifest. Before she got a meter in, however, she spotted the young man, tumbling slowly in the middle of the passage. She floated toward him, stretching out a hand and a foot in opposite directions to bring herself to a stop just shy of colliding with him. A hand on his shoulder she stopped him from spinning end over end so he was facing her, though upside-down from her perspective.

"Hey there, Earth-boy," the pale blonde said softly. "What'cha drinkin'?" She indicated the nearby cocktail glass pressed against the ventilation grating - where all loose objects ended up eventually if left unattended in space. "Hope I didn't upset you too much, yeah? Just a bit of fun that. You alright?" She focused her hazel eyes into his, trying to gauge what, if anything was wrong with the boy. "What's your name?"

"Hello again." The in-experienced Earther mumbled, after having been stabilized in an inverted face to face with Octavia. "It was a... I don't actually remember." He squinted his eyes once again, almost seeing double from being under the influence so easily. Luckily, the alcohol was able to loosen him up a little, though he did try to hide the fact that he was getting drunk off of just one drink. "I'll live. I can take a joke I guess." Mr. Wilson hiccuped before continuing. "Just call me Ben. I was just on my way to my cabin." It was difficult for him to not stare at the thin, pale woman's naked body, so he opted to not make eye contact with her and just look in another direct during their conversation.

After a moment of focusing, the alcohol convinced him to vocalize the thoughts on his mind. "I've never seen a naked woman before in real life. So is this a normal thing for you?" Slowly, the boy's eyes began to drift back to her figure, eyeing her up and down. "If I went around without clothes on like that, I'd probably be arrested or something. But no one seems to make a big deal out of you doing it." The temperature was warm, and there were barely any ambient sounds aside from the occasional beep from the control panels if a door opened or closed nearby. "And why did your friend say you found your cabin-mate when I bumped into you earlier? I-I've never shared a living space with a female before. Does that mean you're moving into my cabin? Or am I moving into yours?" He wasn't sure if he was being played or what, but being an 18 year old, the dirty thoughts began bouncing around in his mind.