TITLE: PROTOSTAR DIRECTIVE AUTHOR: DONNILEE E-MAIL: donnilee@snet.net WEBSITE: http://donnilee.tripod.com RATING: NC-17 CATEGORY: MSR, ADVENTURE CLASSIFICATION: A/U SPOILERS: NADA. SUMMARY: Caught in a place out of time, Mulder and Scully build a new life for themselves and fight a new war in a new time. DISCLAIMER: All characters used from the show, The X-Files, are the property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions, and Fox Broadcasting. No copyright infringement intended. No money made here. DISCLAIMER 2: All references to elements of the game, "Protostar, War on the Frontier" belong to the creators of the computer game, Tsunami Media, Inc. No copyright infringement intended. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Protostar is the concentration of elements preceding the formation of a star. AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: In an effort to release this story in a timely fashion, it has not been beta read. Therefore, any errors herein are mine alone. Please excuse the rushed proof reading. Due to the time lapse since my last story, I wanted to get this out. If I am able to have it beta read in the future, I will post a revised/corrected version on my site at that time. XXXXXXXXXX PROLOGUE EARTH HUMAN DEFENSE COALITION HEADQUARTERS GAEA SECTOR STAR DATE: 2736:0130 Director Esteban Hawking, head of the HDC Special Operations looked at his Vice-Director, Elise Lefevre, after making his declaration. She sighed. "Sir, we are funded by a corporate pool that wants us to find resources. They are not going to fight a war for us. Besides, they know all our personnel. Where are you going to find operatives for something so sensitive?" "I have someone in mind," he said. "Someone?" "Two people actually. A man and a woman. Skeetch captured them. Our military took out the ship operating system and was able to board." "How did they get captured? Were they working on the space station?" "We don't know. We've had a hard time getting them to talk. Although they claim to be law enforcement." "Wait a minute, you're not talking about the couple in Dario Correctional that claim to be FBI from the year 1999?" Estaban's stare didn't waver. "Sir! Come on, they are crazy. All reports indicate that they are off the beam." "I spoke to Almustafa Gibran, the warden there. All medical tests have come back negative. These people are sincere. It's not the first time we've heard of time travel." Elise was silent for a few moments, and then said, "You honestly believe in time travel." Her voice was bland but slightly surprised that her austere, by- the-book boss would believe in such fringe science. "Yes, Elise. I do. I've experienced it myself," he added quietly. Her eyes widened. "You have to be kidding me." "No, when I was a young man, I worked as an apprentice under Balthazar Burgess." Silence invaded the room again. After a few moments, Esteban focused on Elise again. "I know what you're thinking. He was a quack, right? He was discredited by every scientific organization in Gaea sector, but I'll tell you something. I knew the man first hand. He was no quack. He was eccentric for sure, and his science was nonconformist, but that was his brilliance. He dared to think outside the box." "Where did you go?" she asked. There was a hint of amusement in her voice that was endearing and irritating all at the same time. "The year 1995. We came out in a borough outside Paris, France." "What did you do?" "We explored a little but came back fairly quickly." "Why?" "There was too much going on. It was too populated then. People everywhere. We didn't have the currency of the day. At the time I didn't know the language." "Well, the FBI existed, we know that." "Of course it did, but I was in France." "So?" "There was no global government back then, Elise. Remember? Each country had its own government and rulers, many of whom didn't get along other than to try and make money off each other to bolster their own economies. It was organized chaos back then. It's a wonder they functioned at all." "We did a cursory discussion on that era, but our history classes don't generally go back that far other than to hit on a few major events," Elise commented. "I went back that far, in education and in reality. It was a bizarre time. I don't have time to tell you everything." He regarded his second in command with a solemn look and sighed. He was beginning to feel his age. At sixty, he was still robust and in good shape, a military man his whole life. Now though, his hair was gray, along with his mustache. Deep lines etched themselves into the orbits around his eyes. A bushy mustache covered up an ugly scar that still graced his upper lip, a wound from years past. Elise was young, a mere 42 years old. She was career military as well, but her trenches had been fought from behind a desk. Much of her knowledge was academic. Although they had been through the Skeetch wars together, and she had suffered the loss of many friends, she was one of the 'minds' of the military, rather than a soldier that wielded a weapon. He'd wielded many weapons and graduated to his place behind a desk. Sometimes he yearned to be out in the field again but he knew his body would no longer withstand the barrage and demands of combat. He needed younger blood, but not too young. He believed the two captive agents that were currently being held in Dario Correctional. They did not belong there. Although they were segregated and put up in an efficiency type atmosphere, they were still prisoners for the time being. They were not of this world, didn't know the equipment and technology of this age, but by all accounts, both were of exceptional intelligence and physical bearing. The man's IQ was enormous, and the woman's not far behind. They had told a fantastic story of hunting aliens in their time and not being believed. He had read about those times when humans were ignorant of all the other sentience in the galaxies. Many of their suspicions had come to pass. Aliens did exist. Some could shape shift, and although they had not succeeded in invading earth in 2012 as they had originally planned, they had returned a later and nearly wiped out the human population of the Earth and the Gaea sector. Humans had regrouped, formed the Human Defense Coalition and founded a global government that now ran affairs for all inhabitants of the planet. The government was vast and complex now. Major corporations that did ninety percent of the research and development in scientific fields funded much of the government programs in return for contracts. Politics hadn't changed that much, but the structure was different, and much bigger. The Skeetch wars had taught them many things, gained them much technology and knowledge of life forms out in the universe. There was still much to explore. Now that Gaea sector was pretty much thoroughly mapped out, it was time to venture into the other known sector. Thule sector, with its unmapped galaxies, planets, and possible resources. Newfront Corporation was huge. They were willing to fund a squad of recon craft to explore Thule sector and hopefully garner resources. Despite the discovery of many planets in Gaea sector, which were located inside two other galaxies near the Milky Way, resources were scarce. There was talk of the Skeetch mounting another offensive. At the present time, there was no way Gaea sector could fend off another major offensive by the Skeetch. They needed resources. They also needed allies. That's where the HDC came in. Hawking wanted to slip agents into Newfront recon vessels that would be attempting to make contact with other sentient life forms in Thule sector. Previous attempts had failed, but he would bet his career that they had suffered at the hands of the Skeetch as well. Skeetch agents and Newfront Corporations big dogs knew all of the HDC's agents and had files on them. They didn't know these visitors from another time. He could slip them in and Newfront would never be the wiser. If they produced results, Newfront and the HDC would have no choice but to come on board. It would have to be covert at first though and he couldn't afford to let many people in on his plans. He trusted Elise although she could be short sighted at times. She did possess one of the finest minds of their time. She was also loyal, a trait he valued highly. He knew no matter how ridiculous she thought his ideas were, she would consider them carefully and still respect him. Magellan and Andromeda galaxies that shared the Gaea sector had garnered allies. Several planets in each galaxy harbored human or human like sentients that were united in the HDC against the Skeetch. Nonetheless, they were still outnumbered. He knew the Skeetch would never give up. They were a warlike society that fed on the resources and misery of other species. The consumed their technology and then turned it against their enemies. There only aim was controlling as much of the universe as they possibly could. They had enslaved many humans and Magellans in the last war. Magellans were the name given to those humanoids found in the Magellan galaxy. They were similar to us, had better technology but weren't as hardy physically as humans. We had pooled our resources with them and the Andromedans who were more like us to fight the Skeetch. It wasn't enough. "Will you go with me to talk to them, Elise?" he asked. She sighed. "Do we know how they got here?" "In this time, you mean?" he inquired. She nodded. "No, but it's only one of many things I want to find out." "I'll go with you. You haven't been wrong yet. As far as slipping in covert agents, no one would recognize them or know them, that's for sure." "Exactly," he confirmed, glad that she was catching on to his reasons for wanting to use them. "They would have to be trained." "I know, but I'm confident they would learn quickly." "They would have to," she said, with an ominous ring in her tone. XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 1 EARTH DARIO CORRECTIONAL GAEA SECTOR STAR DATE: 2736:0130 Mulder and Scully looked up as the air locked door swished open. They put down their forks and stood to greet whoever was invading their privacy this time. It had been a hard few weeks. They'd been captured by the aliens, taken aboard a ship, and then somehow gotten in the middle of a war. Attacked by those unfriendly to the aliens, they'd found themselves sliding through some sort of wormhole in space and coming out in the middle of a space like dogfight. They couldn't see what was going on, but they could hear and feel it. When it was done, hideous creatures captured them. They stood about five and half feet tall. They'd had orange and green stripes and rubbery skin. They walked upright but used forelimbs to lumber along, swinging their bodies forward. They ate insects with a tubular tongue that darted out of their mouths and was covered in slime. The good news was that they hadn't killed them. They didn't look surprised to find them. They spoke their own language but had been able to speak a very broken form of English to them, meaning that they must have encountered humans before. They'd been told they were prisoners and would be examined and interrogated for any information that might be valuable. They'd had no idea what the creatures were talking about. Mention of a place called Garriod was mentioned and frontier craft, whatever they were. They could only imagine they were talking about some kind of space ships. It was frightening to know these creatures and this technology was out there. For all our knowledge, we were surprisingly ignorant of the technology and life out there in the universe. Knowing all this was out here was scary in the extreme. It was even scarier that the people of Earth didn't have a clue what was waiting for them. Before they were subjected to questioning, they were attacked again. This time, after disabling the ship and killing the pilots, humans had boarded the ship and blasted away at the foul creatures, and taken them aboard their own ship. Imagine their surprise when they learned that humans were flying a space ship of some kind. A tall man about six feet tall and around sixty years old entered the room, followed by a woman about five feet, seven inches tall. Both were wearing some kind of black uniforms that resembled jump suits. They bore a navy blue insignia in the middle of a white patch that read HDC. A moment of silence held sway and finally the man introduced himself. "Hello. I'm Esteban Hawking, Executive Director of the HDC. This is my second, Vice-Director, Elise Lefevre." Mulder and Scully merely stared at them. When the director realized they weren't going to respond, he said, "I'm told you're names are Mulder and Scully. Are those last names?" Mulder cleared his throat. I'm Special Agent, Fox Mulder with the FBI. This is my partner, Special Agent, Dr. Dana Scully." Esteban nodded. "We know of the FBI. It's taught in our high school curriculums, although briefly. That form of government is so far in the past, it's hardly discussed anymore." Scully finally spoke. "I don't understand. Where are we?" The director dipped his head slightly to the side, as if contemplating what to say. "No one has told you?" "No," Scully replied. "All we know is that we were taken prisoner, rescued, only to be taken prisoner again. We don't know where we are, how we got here, or who the hell the HDC is. You've tested us and poked and prodded us and told us nothing. I think we're entitled to some answers!" Elise raised a single eyebrow and smiled. The gesture reminded Mulder of Scully's eyebrow of skepticism. "Please be seated," Esteban said, waving at the chairs. They sat, while Elise and Esteban pulled up the two other dining room table chairs and sat as well. After lacing his fingers together atop the table and adopting a casual pose, he continued. The ploy didn't seem to put the agents at ease as he'd hoped. These two were smart and wary. Good, those were traits that would be useful, he thought. After gathering his thoughts, he said, "HDC stands for Human Defense Coalition. It is the name of military wing of the global government that now oversees the affairs of Earth." "There's a global government?" Mulder asked, clearly confused. "Yes," Esteban answered. "Elise is one of the finest politicians and career military minds of our time. She can probably explain it better." He turned to Elise and found her smiling at the compliment. "Do you know what year it is?" she asked first. Both agents shook their heads. Scully said, "When we were captured by aliens, it was 1999." Elise graced them with an enigmatic smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It is 2736. Since your time, the galaxy has been explored and mapped, along with two other galaxies named Andromeda and Magellan. We have made alliances with the sentients of both these galaxies. They are much like us in form and mannerism, although there are differences. They also were found to have greater technology." "Apparently," Scully said, her voice not hiding her sarcasm. "I know this is a lot to take in," Elise said. "However, you wanted answers and I'm going to try to give them to you. The facts are that you are in this time now and we don't know of any way to send you back." "Peachy," Mulder said under his breath. Esteban commented. "We have shared and incorporated knowledge, resources and technology with these other worlds. These three galaxies are known as Gaea sector." "Sector?" Mulder questioned. "Sector of space," Esteban clarified. "There are others. Namely, Thule, which we call the Frontier as it is unexplored and unmapped." "Frontier? As in space, the final frontier?" Scully asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. A gentle nudge from Mulder's elbow caused her to frown. Esteban looked at Elise and asked her to continue. "The government is divided into three sections. The Executive Branch of government makes the laws for those living here on earth. The HDC is the military portion of the government that essentially takes care of all things military, along with space exploration." "You said three," Mulder reminded her. She nodded. "The third portion of government for the planet is the Finance Ministry. It is made up of several enormous corporations, and many smaller ones. Their objectives are two fold. One is to provide funding for the rest of the government, including the military, and to provide spacecraft and personnel to explore unmapped regions of space in the hope of finding resources." "Resources for what?" Mulder asked. "Good question," Elise replied. "Bear with me. I'm forgetting you know nothing of the structure here. If you have any questions, feel free to interrupt me. Earth now has highly advanced terra forming in regions also run by the Finance Ministry. Their farms feed the planet. What Earth lacks is the many metals and resources needed to construct space craft and power them. Therefore, we must collect them from other planets. We have essentially nearly depleted the resources of this galaxy. While we can trade with Magellans and Andromedans for more, their resources are finite as well and the cost is high. Our objective is to find the resources in Thule sector." "Why do I sense a huge problem with that?" Mulder asked. Scully added, "You'll have to excuse us, but this all sounds fantastic. I mean, are you telling me that humans freely travel through space from one galaxy to another. It would take years! Lifetimes in fact! What you're saying is ridiculous." Esteban raised a hand up in a calming gesture. "With the technology possessed in 1999, you're absolutely correct Ms. Scully. However, in this time, we have appropriated the technology of other races of sentient beings, which was highly advanced and superior to our own. That included hyper space travel, along with advanced spacecraft." "How is this done?" she asked quietly, clearly not believing and wanting evidence. She was indeed a scientist and doctor, Esteban thought. He turned to Elise and gestured to her to answer the question. "Materials we had heretofore not known existed were found on other planets, moons and stars, many of which were used to make spacecraft that could withstand space travel and hyperspace travel. As to hyperspace travel, the Megellans gave us technology that allows these craft to create wormholes in space that we travel though to reach other galaxies and other planets. The Andromedans provided technology that allowed us to calculate the coordinates of the other end of the wormhole, thus allowing us to estimate with fair accuracy where we would end up. Much trial and error and loss of life and resources was gone through before we perfected the technique." Scully's eyes were large in her face. A battle between her current level of knowledge was being waged against what Elise was telling her existed in the way of technology. "It's fantastic, hard to believe." Elise nodded. "Yes, but we have become a space faring people in this millennia. This is not without problems, of course." "Ah, yes, the problems. I asked about those before, remember?" Mulder reminded us. I smirked, unable to stop my amusement at his sense of humor in a very stressful situation. That would also serve him well. Elise answered his question with one word. "Skeetch." Scully raised her eyebrow in question. "We've heard the word. We have no idea what it means." "Those things we rescued you from?" Elise said. "Those orange and green bastards?" Mulder inquired. Elise nodded. "They are vile creatures bent on warfare and conquest of the galaxies. They have no remorse, and no visible morals or emotions other than anger. They are the scourges of the frontier. Until we poked our noses in there, they had never ventured into our galaxies. Now they know we are here and have waged war on us. It was what led to the global government and the HDC being formed. The HDC runs the military and its resources, but the Finance Ministry funds it. Now, although there are many corporations involved, the largest is a company called Newfront Corporation. They are the largest manufacturer of recon spacecraft and the largest contributor of funds to other parts of the government." "Hence they hold the most power," Mulder concluded. Esteban nodded. "Exactly. They are always looking for new recruits to do exploration in their recon frontier vessels." "If the Skeetch are in Thule sector, why not just stay out of there?" Scully asked. Esteban sighed. "Unfortunately, as we said, we need the resources of Thule sector. Moreover, simply staying out of the frontier will no longer ensure safety. They know we are here, along with Andromeda and Magellan. It's only a matter of time before they mount a new offensive. They want to rule the galaxies." "What happens when they take over?" Scully asked. Elise swallowed hard. "They enslave the people and work them to death in the procurement of the resources of that planet. They have no mercy. At our current situation with depleted resources to make war ships, we would not withstand another Skeetch war like the one before." "You know for sure they are coming?" Mulder asked. Elise nodded. "No doubt about it. They randomly attack any Newfront vessels they see on the frontier. In rare cases they let them run and follow them back this galaxy or Magellan or Andromeda. We think those efforts are recon missions to see what they are up against and how many of us there are. They are mapping our galaxies just as we are mapping theirs." "So what's the solution?" Scully asked. Esteban was silent a moment. Then he said, "They need to be wiped out." "If you don't have the resources to build the vessels that could even defend Earth, then how do you plan to wipe them out?" Mulder asked. Esteban gave them a wistful smile that did not reach his eyes. "Therein lies the problem of which you asked about before. Our only hope is gathering resources through Newfront and other corporations so that we can build the vessels we will need, not only to defend our galaxies, but to venture into theirs and wipe them out." "That's one hell of a big problem," Scully said, in the understatement of the year. "Indeed," Esteban commented. "That's where you come in." XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 2 EARTH NEVADA SPACE STATION GAEA SECTOR STAR DATE: 2737:0530 ONE YEAR LATER Scully sighed as she looked around the hanger deck. They had been released from their comfortable prison and taken to the Nevada Space Station for training in spacecraft, space flight, and navigation. Upon Director Hawking's orders, they were educated in double time and spent 12 to 14 hours a day being trained in various aspects of space flight and travel. Piloting a spacecraft was difficult at best. Free time was spent eating or sleeping. They were exhausted but saw no other way. After several conversations concerning the possibility that they could be sent back to their time, it was concluded that this was not possible. They had no way of knowing if that was true or not, but no way to fight city hall, as it were, either. Many tears were shed as they prepared to make a new life for themselves in this strange yet familiar world. "Ready for our first test flight?" Mulder asked. Scully looked up at him. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. I still have trouble believing all this." "Me too. I wish there was another way." "We've been over this before. This is the best shot we have to make a difference. What else are we going to do? Pine away for a time and place we can never return to?" "It's harder for you. You left family behind," Mulder sympathized. Scully's eyes became moist, but rapid blinking kept the tears at bay. "I'll always miss them, but there's nothing I can do." "Does it seem odd that they have all this technology and yet haven't experimented or figured out time travel?" "Maybe they subscribe to the age old argument that it's dangerous because it's too easy to change the course of history," she offered. "Perhaps." Scully sighed again. "This is our life now, Mulder, we'd best make the best of it." He nodded and hugged her with one arm around her shoulder. Just then, Ignatius Avalon, the Chief flight instructor approached them. "Tomorrow, 8 AM sharp. Your virgin flight out of the atmosphere," he declared. They both nodded solemnly. "We're ready," Mulder said. Iggy, as they called him, huffed and said, "Of course you are. You were trained by the best. Now, hit the rack and get some sleep. I want you bright eyed tomorrow morning." They smiled at him and walked away, waving over their shoulders at him. XXXXXXXXXX MULDER & SCULLY'S BASE APARTMENT NEVADA SPACE STATION STAR DATE 2727:0530 They ate dinner and then sat on the couch with cups of coffee. Some things hadn't changed; coffee was still the preferred stimulant on the planet. Until now, they had maintained separate bedrooms. Against normal military protocol, they had been allowed to live together on the base, since they didn't know anyone else here and refused to be separated. Hawking had allowed it and ordered one of the efficiency apartments on base to have the office in it converted to a second bedroom so that they could remain together. Fake identification bearing their real names was created for them. The birthdates had changed obviously, along with the history that was created for them. No one on the base knew of their fantastic story of being from another time. They didn't know of their background in law enforcement. Neither did they question that Lt. Colonel Scully and Colonel Mulder were career military officers. Scully's knowledge of military behavior gained from her father and brothers had helped as they navigated through the process. Some things never changed. All they knew was the head of the HDC had commanded them to teach these two military officers everything they needed to know in the shortest amount of time. They were to be military undercover operatives with Newfront on a highly classified, top-secret mission for the HDC. None of their trainers knew what that mission was. Some were curious, but in the tradition of well-trained military personnel, they asked no questions and simply went about their jobs to the best of their ability. It had taken some getting used to when they first saw Second Lieutenants, Lieutenants, Captains and Majors saluting them as went about their business. Mulder put his mug down on the coffee table and turned on the couch to face Scully, pulling one boxer clad leg up onto the cushion. His arm draped over her shoulders as she sat relaxing and staring off into space. The last four months had created a new intimacy between them. Living together didn't hurt. Both were surprised at how easily they had adapted to it. Of course, most of their time was spent sleeping and eating when in the apartment, so they hadn't had a lot of time to get on each other's nerves as far as domestic habits went. At the same time, their need for one another's presence had not lessened as they'd gotten to know others of this strange time. It had increased. They often felt a need to be within sight of one another. Small touches of reassurance had become common and not unwelcome, but looked forward to. "Scully," Mulder said softly, to get her attention. She shook her head slightly, but turned to him. "Hmmm?" "We're going to be in space tomorrow," he said simply. "Yeah. And?" she inquired. "What if something goes wrong?" Her eyes found his now and fixed on them, her brow creasing as she tried to ascertain the reason for his cryptic question. "Why are you asking that? We both know it's risky. We both knew it was leading to this. I am scared if that's what you're getting at. I admit it." "No, not exactly." "Then what?" The arm around her shoulders drew back slightly and his hand found the side of her neck. His thumb whisked back and forth over her pulse, in a barely- there touch. She shivered at the sensation and found herself staring into hazel eyes that were dilated and growing greener by the second. "I guess I'm not wanting to take that flight tomorrow without making sure you know how much you mean to me," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. She gave him a sad smile. "I know." "Do you? I haven't mentioned it since we started this whole thing. Mainly because we've been too busy to worry about our personal life." "What personal life?" she joked, her voice a bit more breathy than she would have liked. "Exactly," he said, smirking. "What? You want to go out socializing in case it's our last chance?" she joked. He smiled widely then, showing teeth and did something funny to her insides. His thumb moved to brush over her lips. "No, but there are things I want to do just in case this is our last chance." Scully swallowed convulsively. "What would those be?" she asked, hoping he was being brave enough to ask for what she wanted, but had not been brave enough to ask for. "I want to know what it feels like to kiss you and make love to you," he said softly, his voice wavering just a bit. "Oh God, Mulder," she whispered in response. He leaned down until his lips were nearly brushing hers and whispered, "I love you, Scully." Her small gasp was swallowed as his mouth slanted over hers. His tongue immediately requested entrance and she granted it, opening her mouth and engaging his tongue in a duel. He moaned from down deep in his chest. She felt the vibrations from it wash through her and lodge between her legs, where a rush of heat and moisture were now gathering. They only had each other in this strange place and time. A small dart of doubt besieged her, wondering if this would be happening if they were still in their time. Then it was washed away as he raised his mouth, panting gently and said, "I've loved you for so long." "Me too," she whispered. No more doubts, she thought. Wondering what might have been was fruitless. This was here and now, and they were not bound by the regulations of their old jobs, or their old world. Life was too precious and it could be taken away at any moment. She wasn't going to pass up this opportunity to share herself with Mulder. The man had her heart since the day they'd met; even it had taken her nearly six years to realize it. They couldn't go back. Be it this time or that, he was the love of her life and there were going to be no more secrets. It all seemed so petty and trivial now, the reasons she'd thrown up as a smoke screen to protect her heart and justify not going after what she wanted. They could die tomorrow and all this training would be for nothing. If that was the case, then they weren't going to die never knowing this passion together. She stood from the couch and held out her hand. He rose slowly and clasped her hand. "Your place or mine?" he teased. "Ha!" She tugged him toward her room and he followed docilely. She didn't fail to notice that he was making an impressive tent in the front of his boxers. XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 3 MULDER & SCULLY BASE APARTMENT NEVADA SPACE STATION STAR DATE 2737:O530 Once next to the bed, he took her mouth under his again and made short work of her silk pajamas. In short order, they were puddle on the floor around her feet. His hands slid inside her panties and cupped her rear end. She moaned and pressed herself into his hardness, feeling her bare breasts press into his chest and her nipples bead up into hard points of pleasure. He shoved the elastic down and her panties joined her pajamas on the floor. Her own hands found his waistband and pushed the offending boxers to the floor. She took a step back and they merely stared at one another, getting their first free look at each other with no trepidation, trauma, or secrets between them. "You're beautiful," he whispered. "So are you," she countered. XXXXXXXXXX NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX He pulled her to him and turned, laying her gently back on the bed and arranging her in the center with her head on the pillow. He crawled in after her and ran his hands up and down the sensitive skin on her inner thigh. Strong, thick fingers stroked and caressed her thighs, his thumbs bumping her vaginal lips and then sliding away in a teasing fashion. She sighed in pleasure and tipped her head back, exposing her neck in an invitation he couldn't resist. He bent down, his arms taking the weight next to her head and kissed her pulse, sucking lightly and making her moan. They kissed again, the urgency growing as their tongue did a series of laps and rolls around each other. Her hands were busy feeling the muscles roll under her palms as she brushed his back up and down. Their physical training had increased since they'd been given their mission and he was muscular now, but still very flexible, as was she. He slipped to the side, his hip on the bed next to hers, his mouth still devouring hers. She felt his large hand slid through her pubic hair and cup her mons. She gasped as he pressed the springy, well- groomed hair under his fingers and the pad of one finger over her clitoris. She shuddered and bucked her hips into his hand. His lazy chuckle of satisfaction was maddening. It vanished shortly thereafter when his fingers slid down and found the copious amount of wetness between her legs. "Oh Jesus, Scully, you're so wet." "Oh!" she gasped as two fingers slid gently inside. "Please, Mulder." He smiled and resumed kissing her, his fingers doing magical things to the inside of her small vagina. The muscles were long unused and he stretched them gently with his fingers until he felt them loosen. Although she was soaking wet, he knew if her muscles were tense, he could hurt her. He was not a small man, and neither was his equipment. His penis strained toward her; measuring his full eight inches long. He'd always thanked his father for the one decent thing he'd inherited from him; a big dick. Now, his concern was to make love to the woman of his dreams and daydreams without hurting her. He slid his fingers around until he found the rough patch of skin on the front wall of her vagina. She squealed softly and bucked up. He knew he had found it. With that, he rubbed hard, back and forth over the spot and flicked his thumb over her saturated clitoris. She shouted, "Oh Christ!" He watched as her head was thrown back, her back arched and her vaginal muscles began to squeeze his fingers in a rapid flutter of contractions. "Oh, oh, oh!" she chanted as her body shook under the force of her orgasm and the release of tension. She finally quieted, sprawling boneless on the mattress, her legs wide apart and licking her lips in a languid, post-coital haze. Mulder felt his cock throb; gaining a pressure that was nearly unbearable. "Fuck, you are so gorgeous, Scully," he murmured, sliding over between her legs and gently lifting them to rest on his hips. He waited until her eyes opened, taking his weight on his elbows next to her shoulders. She looked small and feminine and sexy sprawled out beneath him. A flush was still spread across her chest and abdomen in the aftermath of her orgasm. "So good, Mulder," she said quietly. "Do it, God, I need you inside me." She reached down and clasped her hand around him, her fingers barely touching around the circumference. "God, you're big," she whispered in surprise. He chuckled again. "I won't hurt you," he replied. "I know, silly. I'm not worried about that. It's going to feel so good." "You think? Let's find out," he coaxed, reaching the end of his endurance to hold back. She licked her lips again in anticipation and settled the tip of his shaft against her soaking entrance. He rubbed back and forth, coating the head with her lubrication and then pushed gently forward, popping the large head inside. She gasped and curled her hips, giving him a better angle and he began to descend into the tightest canal he had ever experienced. "Oh my God," he moaned. "You're so tight," he hissed. He pumped his hips gently back and forth, edging a little further in with each gentle but determined stroke. Her hips met his in the effort and soon she felt his stomach touch down on hers. One of his hands reached down and captured her leg behind the knee, pulling it up and out, tipping her pelvis upwards. Then she felt him slide the rest of the way in, pressing hard up against her cervix and stretching it. She cried out hoarsely in a mix of pleasure and near pain at being filled so full. "Am I hurting you?" he asked through clenched teeth. "No, just give me a second to adjust. You're so big, so thick. Jesus, I can feel you pulsing inside me," she informed him. He grunted in an effort to hold back and hold still. The urge to plow into her was great, but he never wanted to hurt her. "This feels like heaven, Scully," he croaked. "Oh yeah, do it. Move now." He withdrew slowly only a few inches and then pushed back inside to the hilt. They both grunted and then smiled at one another. "I love you, Mulder," she whispered, saying it out loud for the first time ever. His eyes grew misty and he stroked again, withdrawing a little further this time. She grunted again and he hissed at the sensations racing through his cock and up his spine. "Love you so much, Scully. You'll never know how much." With that pronouncement, all conversation stopped as he began to thrust long and hard, pistoning his entire length in and out of her, leaving only the tip tugging at the lips of her entrance before plunging back in and burying himself deeply. His rhythm was neither slow nor fast, but relentless, forcing her stretched walls open over and over again. The sensation was euphoric and unintelligible sounds floated out of her throat and into the room. It was music to Mulder's ears, knowing he was bringing her this pleasure. He hoped he could hold on long enough to make her come again. His hand slid between them and he levered up a little higher to give himself room. His fingers found her soft pubic hair and rooted around until he found her spongy clitoris. He pressed it against their joining and she cried out. So did he when he felt her snug walls clamp down on him. She was going to come. He knew it. He pulled back and swiveled his hips, stirring his cock around inside her. She wailed as the new sensation hit her, along with his pressing of her vibrating clitoris against his rock hard shaft. It had never been like this before, and she marveled at how much pleasure he was coaxing from her body. Her vision went white and she clawed at his shoulders as her back arched involuntarily, pressing him deep inside him. Her orgasm washed over her, starting at the juncture of her legs and spreading through her. Her abdomen shuddered through a series of nearly violent contractions, along with her vaginal walls that squeezed him unbearably tight. Her nipples were peaked so hard they almost hurt and a hot flush washed up her body and claimed her face. She heard her screams as if through a tunnel as the world disappeared and she continued to orgasm, feeling him pull back and plunge into her again, swirling his rigid flesh around in her body with the swiveling of his hips. Then he was shouting, "Oh Christ, Oh Jesus, Scully! OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD!" As she came down, shivering with aftershocks, she opened her eyes to see his face above her, scrunched up in ecstasy, as her insides were flooded with hot liquid. She could feel him pulse and throb as his seed was pumped deep inside her where he held himself embedded, spraying her cervix over and over again. XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX He collapsed into the cradle of her thighs, his arms wrapping around her sweaty shoulders. He hugged her tightly and kissed her neck and ears where he had buried his face. "Holy shit, that was intense," he muttered. Scully smiled. "It was wonderful, Mulder," she whispered. "Beyond wonderful," he replied. "I love you." "I love you too," she repeated. She smiled, realizing how easy it was to say. Things would never be the same again, in their lives or with each other. At the moment, she couldn't bring herself to worry about it or any of the implications. They were alive and together, in every way now, and that was all that mattered. XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 4 ATMOSPHERE ABOVE EARTH THE NEXT DAY STAR DATE 2737:0601 Mulder and Scully stared in awe at the round globe of Earth below them as they peered out the observation window in the front of the frontier recon craft they piloted. Both were suited up in silver flight suits with black flight helmets containing the intercom radios in the headsets so they could communicate. Their first launch out of the atmosphere had been a success. Now they were simply orbiting the earth with a slow burn of their thrusters as they watched the earth spin below them. "Pictures just don't do it justice, do they, Scully?" Mulder said in a hushed voice of reverence. "No, they don't." As they had exited the atmosphere, they'd been able to see the moon and had been awed by that at first. It didn't compare to the blue and green orb below them. "We'd better do a systems check," Scully reminded him. "Right!" he'd answered, snapping out of her awe induced reverie. Okay, starting diagnostic check." He punched some buttons on the console. After a few seconds he said, "Navigational controls." Scully's eyes scanned over the readout on the screen in front of her. "Check." "Engines and thrusters." "Check." "Fuel supply." "Check." "Hull integrity." "Check. All systems functioning 100 percent," she added. Mulder breathed a sigh of relief. "Should we try the scanners?" "Why not?" He punched more buttons on the console and her screen flared to life. "Gravity readings normal. Atmosphere breathable. Iron ore and coal abundant. Water, plentiful. Sentient species, three," she recited. "Three?" Mulder inquired. "I think it must be the dolphins and the primates." "Hope so," he muttered. She chuckled, punching more buttons on her auxiliary keypad. "Yup, dolphins and primates," she confirmed. Mulder glanced at her screen that shows pictures of dolphins and primates with descriptions of their known attributes listed next to them. There was a third read out showing Homo sapiens, and a brief list of characteristics of human beings. "Neat to see it in action," he commented. "Yeah," she muttered. "What now?" "We orbit once and then head back in, hoping we can reenter the atmosphere unscathed." "Oh joy," she said. "Ho!" he said, adjusting the navigation slightly. "What?" He pointed out the viewing window and she could see a satellite passing to their left. "Iggy warned me that I couldn't autopilot the orbit. Said Earth's atmosphere and the surround are full of satellite debris." "We're outside the atmosphere." "Right, exactly. I guess as these satellites are damaged or become defunct, there is no more radio signal to direct their orbit, so they drift off course and eventually out of the atmosphere." "Then what?" "They hover like that with no place to go and nothing to do." Scully snorted. "Couldn't we clean it up?" "I suppose they could. I'd imagine they have more pressing problems at the moment." "I suppose. You'd think they'd retrieve them, if only to reuse the materials." "We could suggest it to Hawking when we see him next." "That will be tomorrow," Scully informed. "Really?" "Yeah, Iggy said he'd called just before we suited up. Said he was going to want to talk to us after our virgin flight." "Debriefing no doubt." "Or more instructions on our mission," Scully commented. "Okay. Well, relax Scully, we have several hours of orbit to sit through." "Hungry?" "Yeah, actually, I wouldn't mind something." "Dodge the dead satellites, Mulder. I'll see what I can scare up." With that, she exited her seat after unfastening her seat belt harness, and took off her helmet, laying it gingerly on her seat. There was full atmosphere and gravity controls on the ship, so the skills of an astronaut, while taught, were not necessary to move about these highly advanced vessels. She moved down the short hall from the cockpit and made her way to the galley kitchen, finding some sandwich meat and bread they'd packed away. She made sandwiches and slid them onto small plates, carrying them back to the cockpit. She'd made two for Mulder and one for her. "What is it?" he asked. "Ham and cheese," she answered. "Yummy," he said. She grinned and hooked her helmet on the armrest, sitting and biting into her sandwich. Mulder removed his helmet and did the same. Mulder set the auto pilot for orbit and sat back eating idly as they watched the Earth, not knowing what else to say. XXXXXXXXXX EARTH NEVADA SPACE STATION GAEA SECTOR STAR DATE: 2737:0601 LATER THAT DAY It was ten at night when they exited the craft after docking at the space hanger deck. As they climbed down the hydraulic stairs lowered for that purpose, Ignatius trotted up to them with a big smile on his face. "You did it! Twelve hours without a hitch!" He and Mulder high-fived, slapping their hands together in the air over their heads as Scully shook her head in amused tolerance. "I'm glad it's over," Mulder said. "You the man!" Iggy said. "Oh, and you the woman!" he added, when he noticed Scully's raised eyebrow. She smiled at him again. "Truly," Iggy said. "I've never seen pilots learn so fast. You guys are truly a wonder. I see now why Hawking hand-picked you for whatever this mission is." They nodded in acknowledgement at him. Scully said, "Thanks, Iggy. We're exhausted though. Can we debrief tomorrow." "Of course! Hawking will be here at nine in the morning. Meet in my office." "You got it," Mulder replied and they jumped onto the golf cart-like vehicle and sped off the hanger deck toward the military housing. Scully asked, "Do you get the feeling Iggy knows more than he's saying about this 'mission' we're going to be sent on?" "Maybe. There's no way to know. The military is so hush, hush. If some of them have security clearance, they'd probably never let on." "Yeah, I guess I just wish we knew who was in the loop." "Why?" "I don't like secrets," she said simply. "Neither do I, but I have a feeling we'd better get used to them." "Yeah, me too. God, I'm tired." "Nothing ten hours of sleep won't cure," he commented. XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 5 THULE SECTOR STAR DATE: 2737:0730 FREEHAVEN SPACE STATION ONE MONTH LATER Protostar, that was the code name of the mission that they had been sent on. Their mission, Mulder had joked earlier, should they choose to accept it; was to contact the other sentient races in Thule Sector and try to form an alliance with them against the Skeetch. "There it is," Mulder said, drawing Scully's attention. Off in the distance, a speck of white could be seen through the viewing window of the Newfront recon vessel. "Phew, I was beginning to wonder if that wormhole had sent us into never, never land." "Nope, I'm picking up radio signals! On speaker." "Freehaven Tower hailing Newfront vessel. Identify yourself," came the disembodied voice over the speaker system. Mulder cleared his throat. "Freehaven Tower, this is Newfront vessel 729, requesting permission to dock." "One moment, please." The seconds ticked by as the space station came into view. It was a hulking white piece of metal roughly in the shape of an H on its side. Lights shown from hundreds of windows and empty docking bays vented to the outside could be seen along one the arms of metal. Mulder hit the reverse thrusters to slow their approach. "You're cleared for docking Newfront 729. Docking bay 600 cleared for your approach, showing green light." "Roger, Freehaven Tower. I have you in sight. Commencing docking profile." Mulder and Scully worked like a well-oiled machine, each performing their assigned tasks to set the vessel for a safe and smooth docking as they'd been taught. They were nervous though; as this would be only the second time they had done this. Once was a practice run on the space station near Earth's moon. That had gone without a hitch as well. Docking here was a tad trickier, but Mulder switched navigation to manual control and brought the bulky vessel to a slow and smooth halt, hovering over the hanger deck of Docking Bay 600. A bright green light had shown out of the bay to indicate which bay was open for their approach. "Follow the light, my son," Mulder joked as they had nosed into the bay. "Engaging landing gear," Mulder announced. "Roger, Newfront 729." The landing gear whined as he lowered it into position. The enormous bay doors shut behind them and the green light turned white above them. "Commencing to engage atmosphere and gravity," the tower informed them. They sighed in relief as they slowly sunk to the ground, landing lightly on their landing gear with only a small bump. Hissing could be heard as vents on the walls of the dock bay opened and infused the bay with breathable atmosphere and gravity. "How long does this generally take, Tower?" "New to us, are you?" came the amused voice over the speaker system. "First time," Mulder informed her. "Ooo, virgins, my favorite." Mulder laughed and Scully scowled at the young male voice. This only made Mulder laugh harder. "My partner is not amused," Mulder said through his chuckles. "Uh oh, a femme aboard?" "Femme?" Scully countered. The voice couldn't hide its amusement. "No disrespect meant. This will take about five minutes. Relax and I'll let you know when you can exit the vessel." "Roger that, Tower," Mulder replied. They proceeded to remove their helmets and unstrap themselves from the cockpit chairs. Several minutes later, the speaker crackled to life again. "You have a go to disembark, Newfront 729. Welcome to Freehaven." "Thank you," Mulder replied and punched the buttons that would break the vacuum seal on the door in the outer hull and lower the stairs to the deck. They disembarked slowly, not quite trusting the atmosphere and breathed a sigh of relief when there were no odd sensations upon breathing the air inside the docking bay. The door on the inside of the bay slowly began to rise. Mulder figured it must weigh ten tons or more. It stopped at eight feet and they proceeded into the well-lit hallway of the Freehaven Space Station for the first time. Signs were posted everywhere, indicating where the restaurant was, along with the sleeping quarters, infirmary, and PX stations where you could buy food to bring back to your sleeping quarters. As they walked down the hall into and open atrium, kiosks were set up with computer screens. They stopped and muddled through the touch screens for a while, seeing directions to the Frontier Craft, the mechanics shop apparently where damaged vessels could be repaired, a bio-med station, their term for infirmary, and a library was located. "Hungry?" Mulder inquired. "A little but I'd rather get settled in sleeping quarters first." A lone man sat behind an information desk on the opposite side of the atrium. They approached and he turned to face them. It was to be their first contact with an alien being. He looked human; sort of, but back of his head was protruding slightly, showing a larger skull than a normal human. His mouth was a thin, boasting no lips on his skinny face, and his eyes were completely black, with no discernable iris or pupil. "Hello, can I help you?" "We need to reserve sleeping quarters. They pulled out their identifying cards, which listed them as employees of Newfront, rather than military personnel. The man took them and tapped rapidly on his keyboard. "Did you want a single or a double?" the man inquired. "Excuse me?" Scully asked. The man turned his attention to Scully and she found it unsettling. The coal black eyes that bulged slightly were disconcerting. "Do you want separate rooms?" he asked again. "No, one is fine," Scully answered. Mulder smiled, glad they would be sleeping together. Despite their new relationship, he didn't know if Scully would have a problem being public about it. He kept forgetting that all the rules had changed. He didn't have to hide his relationship with her. Nobody cared, not even the military, as it turned out. Hawking had asked why they were so nervous when he made a comment about one of the beds in their apartment not having been slept in after a bug sweep. He was asking if they wouldn't mind moving to a one bedroom, as this suite was needed for other incoming personnel. He'd then realized the situation and said, "We don't worry about that sort of thing." "You don't?" Mulder asked. "No. I understand the military used to have stiff, autocratic rules about fraternization. We still have lots of rules, but we gave up trying to dictate relationships a long time ago. The Skeetch wars taught a few valuable lessons about life turning on a dime. The way we see it, one should find and take happiness where they can find it. As long as it doesn't interfere with your job, we don't concern ourselves with our personnel's private lives." That had been a relief. Scully now showed no qualms about their situation and he was relieved. When he thought about it, they were in space for Christ's sake and knew no one but themselves. Who did they have to answer to? No one at the moment. Who cared what anyone thought? If they thought anything at all. The man punched some more numbers and then handed us a plastic card. "That's your room key, and here a map of the space station so you can find your way around. You'll be heading down that hallway." He pointed off to his left at one of the six hallways leading away from that side of the atrium. As we turned to go, he said, "Have you met with Magellans before?" Mulder and Scully turned back to him. "No," Scully answered simply. What they assumed passed for a smile appeared on the man's face. "It's a little spooky at first. I felt the same way when I encountered my first human. I am a Magellan. My name is Osium." Mulder stepped back to the man and stuck out his hand. "I'm Mulder, and this is my partner, Scully." The man stuck out his hand. "I always forget the odd human greeting of shaking hands. Well met, Mulder and Scully. Enjoy your stay at Freehaven." "Thank you," Scully replied. XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 6 FREEHAVEN SPACE STAIION THULE SECTOR STAR DATE 2737:0730 They turned then and walked away down the hall indicated, looking for the room number that matched the one on their card key, 422. They found it quickly and entered. They were pleasantly surprised to find a fairly spacious common area with a couch, coffee table, a satellite TV and kitchenette with two four chairs and a table. This was all open with no walls separating the two. The kitchenette wall was mounted with small appliances, including a toaster, microwave, convection oven, coffee pot, refrigerator and dishwasher. A small sink was sunk into the countertop, above which were several small cabinets full of plates and silverware and drinking cups and a few pots and pans and cooking utensils. Two doors opposite the kitchen walls revealed a small bedroom, which contained a full size bed, a small closet and one three-drawer dresser for clothes. The other door was a bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink. It was like a little mini-hotel suite. Satisfied, they ventured out with their map and made their way to the atrium again, and found the COM station, an upright cubicle with a screen and keyboard. Mulder searched for and found the slot in which you put your ID card. Scully stood pressed against his side as a plastic hood lowered over the stand to ensure privacy. Mulder punched in the ID for the HDC headquarters and waited nearly a minute. Then a screen appeared, indicating that he should type his message. He typed a message to Hawking, saying they had arrived safely and giving their room number on Freehaven should he want to leave messages for them. As he went to sign out, a window popped up on the screen indicating an incoming message. Mulder and Scully looked at each other, wondering what that could be. Had Hawking sent a message ahead of time while they were traveling here? It took a couple of hours to send messages back and forth via highly advanced Magellan satellite technology. Mulder tentatively hit the enter button to retrieve the message. A photo of a young man about thirty years old appeared on the screen. He had green eyes and dark black hair, parted on the side. His cheeks were slightly chubby and he was wearing a white lab coat. A message printed on the screen below his picture. "Hello, I'm Donnelly Breckinridge. I'm stationed here at Freehaven. I received a message from Esteban Hawking of HDC to contact you upon arrival. I'm a fully qualified biotech engineer. I lost my last job. I'm looking to join a crew. If you are interested, let me know. I'm located in Room 246 in the Alpha wing. Hope to hear from you soon." Mulder signed off. His card popped out of the slot and the hood rose into the air, freeing them from the confining booth. "What do you think about that?" Mulder asked. "I'm not sure. He mentioned Hawking, so that's in his favor. Hawking did say that we would need to assemble a crew. We need a bio-tech engineer, a scientist, a communications expert, a tactician, and a navigator if we are to have a full crew." "Why do you suppose he lost his last job?" "Who knows? We know some of these Newfront vessels don't return." "If that's the case, why is he alive?" "I don't know. Let's go ask, it's the only way to find out," she suggested. They made their way into what the map told them was the Alpha wing and easily located Room 246. They knocked and waited several seconds. The door opened suddenly and the man in the picture stood before them. "Hello, can I help you?" he asked politely. "We're Mulder and Scully," Mulder said by way of introduction. He smiled broadly and waved them in. Once the door was closed he said, "Colonel, Lt. Colonel." They both raised their eyebrows, surprised that he knew their titles. He laughed. "Yes, I know your military status. Esteban informed me of your true mission." "Which was?" Scully asked. "Careful, I like that. You are to try and make contact with the other sentient species in this sector and try to form an alliance with them against the Skeetch. Meanwhile, our cover is a Newfront Frontier vessel that is collecting resources to return to earth with." They didn't completely relaxed, but he was obviously in the loop. Mulder asked, "Why are you out of a job?" The man sat down opposite his couch in a chair and sighed. "I was with another Newfront vessel, doing for real what your cover is, searching for resources. We dropped the pod craft down to the planet. Our scanners showed big deposits of Strontium, a metal used to create the housing for fuel accelerators on the spacecraft. It also showed other sentients but indicated a Newfront signature, so we thought another Newfront vessel was already on the surface." "Were they?" "Yes. Unfortunately, the crew had been killed and Skeetch were operating the pod. They converged on us in less than a half hour of landing and took us by surprise. Our pod was heavily damaged." "How did you escape?" Mulder inquired. The man looked sad. "The whole crew was killed from the impacts except for me and the navigator. We were both hurt but still functional. She managed to set the autopilot to return to the ship in orbit before we both passed out. The rest is fuzzy. Apparently, she also managed to set the pod to send out a distress signal once docked with the ship. Three other Newfront vessels answered the distress signal and found us just as the Skeetch had reentered orbit around the planet and planned to blow up to kingdom come. They were outnumbered, just piloting the pod from the second Newfront vessel and the other three Newfront vessels destroyed them. They each sent a couple of crew members to our vessel and the other one and escorted us back to Freehaven. One of their bio-techs put me in stasis until we got back here and then I was healed in the infirmary." "You were lucky," Scully said simply. "Very." "Did the navigator survive?" Mulder asked. "What's his name?" Donnelly smiled. "She, actually. Avalon Blest." "Avalon Blest?" Scully repeated the name as a question. He smiled. "Odd name, huh? She a Magellan. One of the best navigators I've ever had the pleasure to fly with. A real soldier." "Is she looking for a job?" Mulder inquired. He shrugged. "I don't think so. She commissioned out on Newfront 423 as soon as she was released by the infirmary as fit for duty." "That's a shame. We could use a good navigator," Scully said. "Well, I can leave a message for her. See if she's happy on the vessel she's on now. I've seen her once since, but that was a month ago. She had misgivings about the Commander of that ship. Said he was arrogant and too confident in his tactical skills." "What was his name?" Scully asked. "Hmmm, I don't remember. Claudius something, I think." Mulder nodded. "Well, if Esteban recommended you and put you in the loop, that's good enough for me. We can't afford to look a gift horse in the mouth. Welcome aboard, Donnelly. We leave in two days. We're taking two days to get acquainted with the station and determine our first venture." Donnelly smiled. "Call me Don. I'm honored. Hawking spoke very highly of both of you." "We're flattered," Scully replied. They stood and shook hands. Scully said, "I'm starving. I need to eat, Mulder." Mulder turned to Donnelly. "Join us for dinner?" "You're on. I can also help acquaint you with the space station." As they walked down the hall toward the atrium, from which they would find the hall for the restaurant, Donnelly said, "How many credits do you have?" Mulder looked at him but didn't answer. "I only ask so that I know where we stand financially. I have a few saved up from my last missions if you need them. I normally charge 2,500 credits a week to work on a ship. If you run low though, I'll skip a week or two. I'm in good shape." Mulder nodded. "We're all right for now, but I'll let you know if things get tight." Don nodded. "Didn't mean to pry. I'm just anxious to get back out there. I've been here for a month and I'm going stir crazy." Mulder smiled. "Let's get some food." They found the restaurant and let Donnelly order for them, since many of the dishes were unrecognizable. They both had some sort of well-done meat that tasted like steak and a vegetable tuber that tasted like a potato. They were groaning in satisfaction at the end of the meal. Everything in space was done in credits, which had a corresponding dollar amount in whatever galaxy you were from. In our case, one credit equaled one dollar. Hawking had set us up with accounts, each containing 20,000 credits. That was kept track of on your ID card, which you used to pay for everything from your rooms on Freehaven, to vessel repair to food. Although our mission of uniting sentient races against the Skeetch was paramount, we couldn't forget to do the research and collecting of materials. These we could bring back to Freehaven, where they were unloaded and prepared for shipment back to earth. Every resource was assigned a dollar amount per pound, which was converted into credits and put on your card to spend as you wished. In other words, the more we collected, the more money we would have to operate. We had several challenges ahead of us besides the obvious. They were rather mundane. First, there were three grades of engines, shields, wave and particle guns for Newfront Frontier vessels. Although a research and collection vessel, they were outfitted with weapons and shields. We had Level 1 engines, weapons and shields. In order to upgrade we needed to acquire enough credits to buy larger and better engines and weapons. At present, if we expended 20,000 credits, 10,000 from each of us, we could outfit the Newfront 729 with Level 2 engines, shields and guns. This meant we could move faster and should we engage in battle, our weapons would do more damage and our shields would protect the ship from damage better. It also meant that it would leave us with only 20,000 credits between us. That would be needed for food, fuel for the ship, a substance called stabilium, and salaries for any crew members we picked up. If the crew members averaged 2,500 credits a week, half of our credits would go to pay for one crew member for one month. Not much of a cushion. After a long discussion, we decided to risk it. Don had said he would float us a couple week's salary if need be until we got rolling. Scully hated taking the chance of running out of money, but we had to roll the dice somewhere. I'd rather run the risk of losing a crew member due to non-payment of wages, than lose our lives because we didn't have sufficient weapons and shields on our ship. Our credit situation would be fairly mute at that point. Scully agreed. Therefore, we went to the Frontier Craft bay and ordered the Level 2 equipment put onto the Newfront 729. The good news was that if they were willing to sell them the current equipment, Frontier Craft would take that off the price. We agreed, and as such, our new outfitting ended up costing 14,000 credits instead of 20,000. Not that this made us rich, but a little better off than we had anticipated. I was given to understand that the equipment we sold them would be stored and used to repair any vessels outfitted with Level 1 equipment. So, after only a little better than 48 hours in the 'Frontier', we were outfitted and ready to go on our first research mission, with one crew member besides ourselves aboard. They suited up and met with Donnelly in the Atrium. We had decided to check out a star system relatively close to the Freehaven, distances being relative, of course. It had over ten planets in it and only two had been approached and explored so far. As we made our way down to the docking bay, we heard a shout behind us. "Sir Breckinridge!" They stopped and turned to find Osium running clumsily toward us. They observed that the Magellan was tall and willowy, and it seemed this extremities had less substance than ours, seeming a bit rubbery, for lack of a better word. "Oh, thank God, I caught you!" he exclaimed, stopping and leaning his hands on his thighs, clearly winded from his run down the hall. "What's the matter, Osium?" Don asked. "I just received a message from Avalon!" "Avalon? Where is she?" He stood up straight and unfurled his fingers, showing a slip of paper with coordinates on it. He was clearly distressed. Don put a hand on his shoulder, and said, "It's all right, my friend. Slow down and tell us from the beginning." "The message is a week old. She sent a distress signal via another Newfront vessel that was in the area. They engaged some Skeetch in battle. The vessel is all but destroyed. She managed to seal off the cargo and engine rooms and route life support to those two bays." "Why didn't the other Newfront vessel respond to the distress beacon?" "Bastards!" he spit out. "Sorry, but they said they were laden with cargo and couldn't risk a run in with the Skeetch, but they would broadcast her signal to Freehaven and any vessel within range." Mulder and Scully were appalled. "Are you telling me that a Newfront vessel chose to save their cargo over rescuing her?" The Magellan nodded his head sadly. "She may be dead even now. At the end of her message, which that crew just relayed to me, she said she had rigged the ship to self-destruct. If more Skeetch showed up, she would blow it up rather than be taken captive." "Jesus!" Scully exclaimed. "Please, Sir Breckinridge." He turned to Mulder and Scully, and pleaded, "Commander Mulder, please, I'm begging you. Can you go to her, and see if she still lives?" Mulder looked at Breckinridge. "Your better at this than me. Those coordinates, how far away are they?" "About the same distance as the star system we were heading for, but in the opposite direction." "How long to get there?" "About a week, I would guess. Maybe four or five days, using hyper drive." "Is there a system nearby?" Breckinridge stared at the paper. "Yes, I think so. I'd have to access the ship's database to be sure, but I'm sure there's a star system near there. How close I couldn't say." Osium looked at Mulder again. "Commander, please," he trailed off. Mulder and Scully looked at each other. The decision was already made. Unlike their greedy counterparts, they weren't the type to leave stranded people behind. Rule number one, leave no one behind. Osium and Don watched the silent communication between the two. In sync, they nodded at one another. Osium wondered if they possessed the gift of talking telepathically. Mulder turned to Breckinridge and Osium. "Change of plans. We go after Avalon and then we figure out where we go exploring from there." Osium's body nearly crumpled to the floor. Don grabbed him gently about the waist and steadied him. "Easy, old friend." "Oh, I'm so grateful. Please, bring my Avalon back to me. I don't have much, but what's mine is yours, noble human." "That won't be necessary, Osium," Mulder said, slightly embarrassed by the Magellan's gratitude. He had no idea if they could even find this ship lost in space. If they did, there was a big chance Avalon would be dead. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," the Magellan continued to mutter as Don let go of him and they waited to make sure he could stand on his own. He was emotionally distraught but regaining his balance. "Don't thank me yet," Mulder commented. He motioned to Don and Scully. "Let's move out. There's no time to waste." Osium stood in the hall watching them go until they were out of sight. "May the Gods be with you, noble human," he whispered. He turned and made his way back to his post, head hanging down. He knew the chances were slim that Avalon yet lived, but he would not give up on her. Not yet. XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 7 THULE SECTOR STAR DATE 2737:0802 Once in the ship, they prepared for take off, listening to the tower tell them as the docking bay was depressurized, and the doors vented to space. They raised the landing gear, and felt the ship waver as it found its level in zero gravity. Mulder carefully piloted the large vessel out the bay doors and pointed the nose 'up', and away from the station. Once they were away, he set the navigation for the coordinates given to them by Osium. The location was close enough that a wormhole wouldn't be needed if they wanted to take a week to get there. Since time was of the essence, they decided to open a wormhole and try to jettison themselves closer to their destination. Before doing so, however, Mulder opened the intercom on board the ship. "Don," he called. "Here, Commander." "I'm about to engage the hyper drive." "I'm ready," he replied. He was in the biotech station of the ship, which doubled as an infirmary and stasis lab as well as contained the main scanners that searched for sentient and non-sentient life forms on the surface of planets. "Before we go, I have a question." "Fire away." "Obviously Osium and Avalon are friends. He's my first Magellan so I'm not good at reading the body language, but he didn't look so good." "He wasn't. He was distraught. Avalon is more than a friend. She's his mate, Commander. The Magellans aren't as hardy physically as we are. Their brains are bigger, but their bodies can't take the punishment ours can. An interesting quirk of theirs is that when they are emotionally upset, they have a hard time controlling their muscle function." "Okay, that makes more sense now. Get ready, here we go." "I'm ready," he repeated. Mulder engaged the hyper drive while Scully manipulated the console and instructed the technology she didn't really understand to open a wormhole sending them to the vicinity of the coordinates indicated on the hyper drive. Seconds later, the ship shuddered and then they were sliding into the wormhole. All systems were eerily quiet as a purple and white light show blasted past the viewing portal, despite the sensation of sitting still. Once in the wormhole, they were immune to outside attacks. They unstrapped themselves tipped the seats back, hoping to get a little sleep. They set alarms to wake them every four hours to check on their progress. One would stay awake while the others slept. Breckinridge had volunteered for the first shift. Four days later, they slid out of hyper drive and the end of the wormhole. Alarms went off, alerting them to the change in status. Scully was already awake. Mulder jerked awake and shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "We there?" "I hope so," Scully said. "Checking status." Mulder put on his helmet and opened the intercom. "Don?" "Here, Commander. Just woke up." "Me too. I think we're there. Can you run a diagnostic on the systems, while I try to determine just where 'here' is." "Roger that." XXXXXXXXXX THULE SECTOR STAR DATE 2737:0806 The ship's computer worked frantically, but came up with coordinates fairly quickly. Scully said, "If these calculations are correct, we are about a day from the coordinates Osium gave us." Mulder peered at his screen. He adjusted his heading according to line them up with the suggested coordinates. "Engaging engines, full thrusters." They were soon sailing through the black void, hoping that the computers knew where they were going. There was nothing to see but blackness. They ate and slept twice more before arriving at the coordinates given. They saw nothing and Scully's heart sank. "I don't see anything." "Me either," Mulder replied. He cut the thrusters to minimum. The intercom crackled. "Commander, I'm scanning the area." "Roger that." About a minute later, Don's voice broke the silence again. "I think I've got something. Adjust our heading 021,072." "Adjusting," Scully replied as she instructed the computer. The ship swung in space and Mulder set the thrusters to minimum. They cruised for nearly half an hour when they finally came upon a speck off in the distance. "I have a visual," Mulder reported. "Can you tell what it is?" Don asked. "Nope, looks like debris right now, but we're not close enough. Stand by." They drew closer and the ship came into view. It was blackened in places and half a wing was hanging askew. "Shit," Mulder muttered. Don appeared in the door to the cockpit. "Holy shit." Scully turned on the radio transmitter. "Newfront 423, this is Newfront 729. Do you read?" There was silence in the cockpit. "Newfront 423, do you read?" Scully repeated. Horrible static sounded over the PA system. "Losing … not much atoms … left side … cargo … dock." "You're breaking up, did you say to dock with the cargo bay?" More crackling and then a resounding, "YES!" "Roger that, we're initiating docking profile." "Oh my … ankh the Gods." They carefully pulled up alongside and ejected the tunnel coupling designed for ship-to-ship docking. It took two tries before they could successfully seal to the hull of the cargo bay. Don and Mulder donned their space suits and carried a third as they sealed the vent behind them and opened the door in the tunnel. They were unsure of the condition of the atmosphere in the other ship. They gingerly made their way down the tunnel and banged on the cargo bay door. After a short delay, it hissed and slid open. They saw her immediately. She was on the opposite wall, leaning against it for support. Her left hand was raised and hovering over the panel that opened the bay door. The gravity was engaged, and they were sealed from the space vent, but it was obvious that oxygen was waning. Judging by Osium's skin tone that was somewhere between off white and gray, he'd say that Avalon's skin tone was not good. She was turning a pale shade blue. They rushed to her side and she crumpled to the floor. Opening the intercom and door panel had taken all her reserves of energy. Her eyes were rolling back in her head, as Don slipped the air mask over her head. Mulder cranked the valve and pure oxygen shot into the mask. She coughed and her body heaved, her eyes closing in an expression of pain. They awkwardly maneuvered her body, slipping her into the space suit that was too large for her. Once suited up they headed back into the tunnel. Don reached in and slapped the panel on the wall near the door. His arm snaked back into the tunnel as the door slid shut. Once they were safely back in the ship and sealed up, they divested themselves of their suits. Scully helped them get Avalon out of hers and they rushed her to the biotech station. Don injected her with a pain killer, and they slid her into an O2 stasis chamber. They were all exhausted, partly from the physical strain, but mostly from the mental strain. Scully had been tense and worried the whole time they were gone, scared to death that they wouldn't make it back for some unknown reason. Although trained as astronauts, that had been Mulder's first trip out in a space suit. She had only done it in simulation. They all decided to get into hyper drive first, despite their exhaustion and head back. Then they would be able to sleep for a while before it would become necessary to man the ship again. It was a risk, but after entering the wormhole, they all slept. Eight hours later, they awakened, ate, and checked the ships systems, which seemed to working fine. Avalon wasn't out of the woods yet, but her chances were good. Other than a few cuts and scrapes, she wasn't injured badly. Body scans, x-rays, and other tests Don performed showed no broken bones or hematomas. Her blood was low on oxygen, which was steadily being fixed by the infusion of the stasis chamber. Scully paid careful attention to everything he did and asked questions as he ran his tests, should she need to use the equipment in the future. She and Mulder had received cursory training on all the systems of the ships. However, because they were to acquire a crew, the bulk of their training had been on piloting the vessel and operating the console functions of the ship. Much of it was still a mystery and likely to remain so. Four days later, they dropped out of hyperspace and began the last leg of their journey back to the space station. They were low on fuel and traveled at minimum thrust, despite their urgent task. "Wouldn't do to run out of gas," Mulder had commented cheekily. XXXXXXXXXX FREEHAVEN SPACE STATION THULE SECTOR STAR DATE 2737:0813 It took a day longer to get back than it had taken to get there, but finally they arrived and docked, informing the tower that they needed a medical team right away to take a patient to the infirmary. Osium had heard their arrival announced and rushed to the docking bay. He met them as they disembarked, carrying Avalon's stasis chamber on a stretcher. He nearly flung himself on the chamber in relief and trotted alongside them, occasionally stumbling in his efforts to keep up. They met a medical team in the Atrium and they took over. Exhausted, they all retired to their rooms, deciding they would talk in the next day about what their plans were now. XXXXXXXXXX STAR DATE 2737:0815 They had decided to go to their original destination but took another day to rest and reassess their financial situation. Avalon recovered quickly once treated and given enough oxygen infusion. They were due to leave in the morning when she arrived at their door, hand in hand with Osium. Scully waved them in, inquiring about her welfare. "I am in your debt," she replied. "No problem," Mulder said. She tiled her head to the side in a curious gesture. "I would say traveling several billion miles out of your way was a problem. I thought all was lost. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me." "You would do the same for us," Mulder said. "Would I?" she asked curiously. "I was a stranger to you. Yet you gave up your mission to try to rescue me, not even knowing if I still lived." Scully looked into her black eyes. "Life is always more important." The Magellan nodded. "Still, I am in your debt. I would like to volunteer to join your crew. I am without posting right now. Despite the situation you found me in, I am an experienced navigator." Mulder and Scully looked at one another, using that odd habit of silent communication again. They agreed that it would be good to have a navigator aboard. Although both could pilot, they were inexperienced. Scully turned to her. "We would be honored to have you. However, are you sure you want to venture out so quickly." "I am. I am recovered fully. You reached me in time. I was only left alive because the Skeetch didn't know I was there. I hid the laundry shoot until they were gone. When I checked the systems, I realized the ship was damaged beyond repair. It wouldn't fly. So I conserved what power and resources I had to make the cargo bay habitable. I scavenged whatever food and water I could find and sealed myself into the cargo bay. I did manage to bring the portable radio, which allowed me to send a distress signal. Physically, I wasn't much harmed." "You were running out of air," Scully reminded her. "Of this I am aware, but as I said, you found me in time." She turned to Osium and they made odd chittering sounds back and forth. Mulder realized this must be their native language. Finally they stopped and turned to them again. Avalon said, "We have decided to offer a tank of fuel to begin our journey. I owe you my life. I will work for one month for free." "That's not necessary," Scully said. "Maybe not, but I need to feel that I have repaid you somehow." "Joining our crew is payment enough." "I do not think so," she said simply. "Please, accept my offer." They glanced at one another and then Mulder nodded. "All right, if it will make you feel better. We could use the fuel." "It is settled then. I will arrange to have the ship fueled immediately. Let me know when you wish to leave." "In the morning, if all goes well," Scully said. "Nine o'clock." "Very well. I will see you then. Thank you again." They left, still hand and hand. "Odd people," Mulder said. "Grateful," Scully commented. "That fuel will be a big help," Mulder added. Scully nodded. "I hated to take the offer, but the truth is, until we find something to sell, we could use the help." "I know, and right now. I'll take all the help we can get. We haven't even gotten started here, and we're already behind the eight ball." "We'll be all right. If we were desperate, I'm sure Hawking would wire us some advance credits." "I don't want to ask him for anything this soon into the game." "Neither do I, I'm just saying we'll do what we have to do." "We're not there yet. Maybe we'll get lucky." "Maybe." XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 8 THULE SECTOR STAR DATE 2737:0818 Two days later found us in another star system. Our long-range scanners indicated that there were six planets here. They made for the closest one and dropped into orbit. Scans showed that there were four different life forms on the surface, one of them sentient. We might have hit the jackpot. Nothing in the ships database indicated that this planet had been explored or reported previously. Scanners could tell us that the planet was ice covered and cold, although the atmosphere was quite breathable. Upon making new discoveries, Newfront operatives were allowed to name planets and life forms. This was Don's area of expertise, examining new life forms and he was excited. We all boarded the small pod craft that would take us to the surface. We landed in what appeared to be a barren wasteland. We set our scanners to searching. Three metals were detected; Erbium, Nobium and Tungsten. We moved slowly over the surface extending the tractor beam arm that could pull material from the surface. Scully was searching the database and discovered that these three metals were documented. Erbium and Tungsten sold for 60 credits a pound, and Niobium sold for 70 credits a pound. We began collecting what we could. Our cargo bay would hold 10,000 pounds of material give or take. About an hour into our collection process, we came upon a silver round shaped vessel. Intricate designs were formed all around the outside of it in different heights of metal hull. We went into a hover and hailed the ship. "This is Newfront 729. Please acknowledge," Scully broadcast. "Humans?" came a stuttered reply. "Yes, we are humans, peaceful explorers. Who are you?" "Peaceful? Maybe." The English was broken, but whoever was inside that ship, had obviously come in contact with humans before and knew the English language. "We Deresta can't trust anyone." "I assure you we mean no harm. You are called Deresta?" Scully inquired. "Affirmative. We are scientists." "I am a scientist," Scully said. "I would be most interested in sharing knowledge." "Knowledge of what?" "Anything you might wish to trade." "Some of our scientists are missing. We cannot trust." "What happened?" Scully asked. "They were kidnapped. They were on their way to a conference with a Vantu and were attacked and boarded. We are a peaceful race with little ability to wage war. They have not been heard from since." "Do you know where they were taken?" Scully asked. "No, but we think they are here in this system, but even if we did know, we have no means to rescue them." Mulder said, "Perhaps we can help you?" "I don't see how, although if our scientists were retrieved, the Deresta would be eternally grateful. They were some of the brightest minds of our time." "I can't make promises, but we will try to see if we can help." "We appreciate any help, but dare not hope, and dare not trust." "I understand. Our people need resources. Would you mind us taking some of your natural metals?" "Which ones?" "Erbium, Tungsten and Niobium," Mulder stated. "The planet is littered with those three alloys. We have all we need. Take what you wish, as long as you leave us in peace." "Is there anywhere we can trade?" There was silence that stretched to nearly a minute. "We have trading posts, but dare not trust." "What if we agree to be escorted?" Mulder suggested. "Stand by." In the silence, Scully said, "The computer has information on them. Deresta, a type of ice hog. Average weight 70 kilograms. Average life span, 80 years. Herbavores. Facial stores of fat, infrequent reproduction by spontaneous conception." "Interesting," Avalon stated. "I think I've heard of them," she said over the internal headset that piped into all their helmets. "What little I heard, they are brilliant scientists but reclusive and shy, having very little contact with the other races." "That's proving out," Mulder said. Several minutes later, the voice said, "You will follow us, minimum thrust." "As you wish." They followed at a sedate pace making several turns and finally coming upon a gigantic crater in the ice. The odd vessel floated off to the side and said, "Hover over the entrance and lower your vessel slowly. There is a dock below." "Roger that," Avalon's voice sounded over the system, moving the pod into a hover over the hole. "Roger?" the voice inquired. "That means okay, yes, message received and understood." "Roger!" the voice said in return. Mulder and Scully chuckled. Once docked, they disembarked from the pod. There was a gaggle of creatures, perhaps twenty of them standing in a huddle watching them carefully. They stood about one and half meters high. Their skin was pinkish in hue and they were extremely fat, having legs and feet that looked much like an elephants. Their faces were graced with enormous noses that looked like pouches of fat. Small eyes set close together sat atop the protruding noses. Mulder stepped forward and they all took a step back. He stopped and smiled. "We will not hurt you. I am Commander Mulder. This is my co-pilot, Lieutenant Scully." He turned to Don. "This is our bio-tech engineer, Donnelly Breckinridge, and our navigator, Avalon Blest." One of the odd hog-like creatures stepped forward. His skin was bright pink and floppy ears fell down the sides of his head. He wore a white robe-like garment that looked like a too-large toga around his fat body. "I am called Geesha." Mulder bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you, Geesha." "You will leave all weapons behind," he stated. They all held up their hands, showing that they had no weapons on them. Mulder and Scully did have small pistols strapped to their ankles under their slight suits, but didn't point that out. Hopefully, there would be no metal detectors around. He pointed at Avalon. "That one is not human." "No, she is Magellan, an ally, very similar to us." He stared at her for a moment. She calmly looked back without replying. "You will follow us," he stated. With that he turned and walked away, the crowd of other Deresta following in his wake. Mulder shrugged and said, "We're off to see the wizard." Scully laughed. She was the only one that got it. It appeared that they were in an underground ice cave. The walls were glimmering shards of ice. An odd glow emanated from the walls and lit the passageways. They were led down several long halls, passing open doorways carved into the ice, through which they could see rooms with furniture that looked like plastic and was molded into the floor. Finally, they arrived at a huge open area. The walls were lined with the odd looking blue tables. It looked like a flea market. They were led to a huge circular table in the center of the room, behind which sat four Deresta, in various shades of pink. Geesha turned to them, pointing a stubby, fat, pink finger at one of the Deresta behind the table. "This is Master Nobsha. You will trade with him." With that, he walked away, the sea of short pink heads trailing after him. They turned to Nobsha and Mulder introduced them all again. Turned out that Nobsha had a list of items in their storage inventory, which he handed to Mulder. It was a thick paper-like substance he had never seen before. They gathered around and examined it. Avalon and Don examined it and recognized many of the items Mulder and Scully did not, but they were clueless about many of them as well. They asked a lot of questions about items on the list and what they were used for. Scully had brought a small notebook and was furiously taking notes. Since they had plenty of fuel, thanks to Avalon, they traded some stabilium for plutonium and titanium and a substance called empathilink, that had Avalon all excited. They had no choice but to trust her judgment. The Deresta were apparently desperate for stabilium. She informed us that Empathalink would sell for 130 credits a pound. It was used by the Magellans to enhance telepathic communication. We bought 2000 pounds of the liquid substance, along with 2000 pounds of plutonium and 2000 pounds of Titanium. Both metals could be used to build spacecraft. Our records showed that Titanium sold for 60 credits a pound and Plutonium for 70 credits a pound. Stabilium sold for 100 credits a pound. They'd traded 3000 pounds of stabilium for 6000 pounds of materials that would gross them 520,000 credits! Even subtracting the 300,000 credits that the stabilium was worth, we would still make 220,000 credits! Not bad for a first venture. They still had 4000 pounds of stabilium, plenty of fuel to get us to each of the other three planets in three unexplored planets in this system and back to Freehaven. After the trading was concluded, Geesha appeared again and asked us to follow him while the materials were loaded onto the pod. Avalon stayed behind to oversee this. She would have to make a couple trips to the ship and back to load all the cargo. The pod ship wouldn't hold it all at once. The rest of us followed Geesha and were ushered down more ice-laden hallways and into a large chamber. We were introduced to Heebsha, their equivalent of a President. He calmly related the story of the missing eight scientists and their desire to get them back if they were, in fact, still alive. He felt they were, saying he believed they were kidnapped to extract information from them. The Skeetch were always looking for new technology or ways to improve their weapons. They probably believed the Deresta scientists could be of value. Little did they know that weapons were one of the last things the Deresta developed. While they had had lightweight armor and particle guns on their ships, they were not weapons experts and had never endeavored to create them. They were not a war like society, and had lived in peace for thousands of years. He believed the scientists would be held until it was determined that they had no knowledge of value. His fear was that they would be tortured to extract information and knowledge. He believed they were in this star system, but evaded questions as to why he thought that. He did mention that recon vessels had sighted several Skeetch warships in the system and retreated home rather than engage them in a losing battle. Both Mulder and Scully had to bite their tongues to prevent laughter when they found out this planet was named Boobala. No kidding. They left, promising to do anything they could should they discover the whereabouts of the scientists. By this time Avalon had docked after her third trip to the ship in orbit and we boarded the pod ship, which now had an empty cargo hold. We exited their ice city below the surface and wandered for a while, picking up some more elements. In our travels we picked up three life forms. Don named them ice skimmer, ice worm and Trihopper, due to their various natures. The ice skimmer was a snail like creature about the size of a fifty cent piece that was blue with a red and yellow fin over its back that 'skimmed' along the surface of the ice and extracted minerals from the frozen ice as its food source. The ice worm was just that, a worm that resided in burrowed ice dens and fed on Tungsten, a negligible amount and trihoppers. It was light blue and blended with the ice as camouflage. The trihopper was an odd creature about the size of a large mouse. It was dark red in color and had a green tail-like appendage that ended in a fork- shaped, white stinger. It was triangular in shape, the tail extending from the rear point. It hopped along the ice and was capable of jumping nearly five feet into the air to escape capture by the ice skimmers. Don was busily running tests after collecting several samples of each and entering his data into the computer of the ship. It would later be downloaded into the space stations electronic library database. We were pleased to find out those new life forms, if submitted for study to the Andromedans and the Magellans were also of monetary value. Although the price varied, the Magellans and Andromedans generally paid fifty to seventy thousand credits per life form. Knowing this, we collected five of each in order to be able to give a couple of each to the Magellans and the Andromedans as well as the Earth scientists. It was through these new life forms that many new medicines had been discovered. This, of course, interested Scully to no end. XXXXXXXXXX CHAPTER 9 THULE SECTOR STAR DATE 2737:0820 They traveled to the next planet in the star system and dropped into orbit. Our scanners told us the surface was littered with boron and mercury, which sold for 80 credits and 60 credits respectively. The atmosphere was not breathable however and there were no visible life signs of either sentient or non- sentient creatures. It was sort of surreal to them what they were doing a mere year since their kidnapping by the aliens. They had already met two other alien races. It was a bit mind-boggling at first, but the thrill of discovery was invading their blood and they were eager to perform. They went to the planet in the pod ship and collected as much boron and mercury as their cargo could hold. They debated whether to check out the other two planets in the system, but decided to return to Freehaven and sell their loot. They could always return to explore the other two planets. The one they were at was already on the map and in the ship's database. It was called Orpheon. It would be a three-day trip back to Freehaven. They could at least report that they had made contact with one of the alien races they were charged with building an alliance with. Mulder and Scully also discussed the fact that they didn't know much about the other races, and decided a few days of intensive study about them wouldn't be amiss. Knowing something of your quarry could never hurt. Don and Avalon told them that the space stations library was full of information culled from other explorers and information that was available on the other sentient life forms in Thule Sector. The decision was made and they settled in for the trip back to Freehaven. XXXXXXXXXX THULE SECTOR STAR DATE 2737:0823 Three days later they arrived at Freehaven, docked and reported on their cargo, leaving it to the deck jockeys, as they were called to unload the freight and transfer it to the cargo ships bound for earth. By the next day, their accounts should be credited with the sale. Before bedding down for the night, they went to the COM link and sent another message to Hawking. There was one waiting for them from him, congratulating them on their arrival. Then a second message dated a day later came through advising that there had been scattered Skeetch attacks on merchant vessels in the Andromeda, Magellan and Milky Way galaxies. They were going to need all the money they could get to defend against these attacks and get more warships built. Mulder and Scully prepared a message to send back advising of their first venture and the money they had made. They decided they could easily send 150,000 credits to Hawking at this time and still be in good shape. They also told him of obtaining Donnelly and Avalon as crew members and the circumstances surrounding those events. They left the com link and completed one last task, going to the Frontier Craft, as it was called and ordering Level 3 shields, wave guns and engines put into the Newfront 729, along with Level 3 engines, shields and particle guns in the pod ship. They would be outfitted for speed with maximum fire power. That made them feel better. They ordered that the ship also be refueled to maximum capacity. This meant at least a three day layover which they didn't mind either. They needed sleep first and foremost, and then they would hit the library in the morning. After a few days of studying, they would be ready to venture forth again. XXXXXXXXXX FREEHAVEN SPACE STATION STARDATE 2737:0823 ROOM 422 We entered the bedroom and stripped without ceremony, taking a shower right away. The down side to space travel was not bathing regularly. There were spray decon showers aboard that sprayed you with a chemical that killed germs, but it didn't do much for dirt and grime and it certainly didn't make you smell any sweeter. Despite Mulder's weariness, he found himself excited by the sight of a naked Scully. They hadn't made love since they left here; not much opportunity aboard ship. They soaped up and rinsed off, arousing one another in the process. "You too tired?" Mulder asked, his erection prodding her in the rear end as his hands sent shivers through her body as they wandered down her arms and across her abdomen. She didn't have to ask what he was talking about. Her nipples were drawn up into tight knots of pleasure. "No, keep going," Scully whispered as his lips blazed a trail from the back of her neck down her shoulder. XXXXXXXXXX NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX One hand slipped down to ply her nether lips and she gasped as his fingers ran over her protruding clitoris. Hot wetness flooded her juncture and she pushed her taut behind back into his burgeoning erection. He moaned and slid a finger into her canal with ease. The other sought out her left nipple and pinched and twisted lightly, causing an answering moan to float from the back of her throat. The man was certainly talented, and was no slouch at multi-tasking. He toyed with her until she was swiveling her hips and thrusting her ass back into the cradle of his pelvis, effectively trapping his now throbbing erection between their bodies. She bent forward, bracing her hands on the wall of the shower and spread her legs a bit further. He bent at the knees and guided his erection between her legs, sliding the tumescent shaft back and forth in her wetness and bumping the back side of her clitoris in the process. "I'm ready," she breathed out. "Just do it." He grunted softly and took his hand from her mons and slid around to grasp himself, lining up with her slick entrance. He entered her slowly, savoring the sensation of her muscles stretching to accommodate him and the soft, hot feel of her walls tightening on his shaft. She moaned again and then coaxed him. "Please, Mulder, I need this." He began to stroke into her, inching his way in with every stroke, not wanting to hurt her despite her readiness. The pleasure grew in intensity for both of them as he surged deeper into her with every stroke until he was embedded fully. His balls pressed against her mons and clitoris and he ground himself into, notching up the pleasure. Then he was retreating until just the tip remained inside and surging back into her depths, all the way. His shaft caressed and coaxed her vaginal walls, making them tighten with her oncoming orgasm. His hand found its way back to her front and began rubbing her clitoris gently as he palmed her breast with his free hand and used it to pull her onto him with every stroke. The warm water was washing the sweat away as they continued to speed up. She was pushing herself back onto him, aiding in the race to the finish. "God, you are so sweet," he groaned. She began to whimper and soft grunts emerged from her lips. "Oh, uh, oh, uh." For some reason that little sound excited him all the more and he was soon slamming into her, thrusting hard and bottoming out against her cervix. He pressed hard against her clitoris and she fell apart in his arms. Scully felt the tension coil inside her, her elastic walls tensing around his rock hard shaft and sending bolts of sensation through her body. His hands worked their magic on her mons and breasts and she cried out as her peak came suddenly, washing over her like a tidal wave. Her walls sputtered frantically, squeezing him with delicious intent and her body flushed hot, tingles of sensation racing all through her. Her vision went white and she gasped out, "Oh God, it's so good. I love you, love you, love you!" Mulder cried out, the force of her contractions too much for him to bear. His ass muscles clenched, driving him as deep as he would go. He grasped her hips, holding himself to her and groaned ecstatically as he reached his own orgasm. Jism fired up his shaft at an alarming rate, pouring into her with each throb and jerk of his dick. XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX Their breathing returned slowly and they both sighed as his now flaccid member slid out of her. They washed one another a final time, exchanging slow and erotic, lazy kisses. After retreating from the shower and drying off, they crawled into bed naked, weary to the bone but satisfied. "I love you Scully," Mulder murmured into her hair as he spooned around her. "I love you, too, Mulder." They fell asleep with smiles on their faces. THE END. STORY CONTINUED IN PROTOSTAR DIRECTIVE 2.