Observations

Gabriel Alphonse watched the screen intently. The camera mounted on the side of the Hermes lander showed dust and rock being kicked up.

“20 meters,” crackled Li’s voice over the radio.

“20 meters roger,” responded Dayton, “prepare for landing sequence.”

“10 meters… 9… 8…”

“Stick that landing Eric,” Alphonse said under his breath, wishing the craft down.

“3… 2… standby,” reported Li, “landing sequence complete!”

A cheer erupted from the watching crew members. Ilsa Kellerman, sitting next to Alphonse, leaned over and hugged him with excitement.

“We did it Gabe! We made it.” He nodded in response; not sure he even believed it yet. Mars. The lander was on Mars. His hands shook with excitement. After all that, they made it. Or at least, the lander did anyways. This was step one. A huge step one.

“I can’t believe it,” he exclaimed, hugging Kellerman, “all that time, preparation and training, I can’t believe we’re actually doing it.”

“Earth this is Hermes,” reported Dayton, “we have arrived!” Another cheer broke out among the watching crew. Mission control back on Earth were watching but it would take some time for the message to arrive. For now, these twelve people were the only ones who knew.

The video showed movement. A drone was coming over to the lander and hooked up a hose to the vessel.

“It is strange to me,” Alphonse said watching the robot work, “that these drones have been building us a home this whole time. When you think of a colonization mission you don’t think of a pre-made base waiting for us.”

“Better than having to do it ourselves Gabe,” Kellerman retorted, “but it’s true. It’s odd... yes.”

The ship mounted camera panned slowly around. The base was small by any standards. A network of infrastructure to scrub oxygen from the thin atmosphere, solar power generation, power storage, and vaporators to harvest water.

“It doesn’t seem like enough, does it? The atmosphere here is so thin,” he said to Kellerman.

“It’s true but I talked to Pam, and she says that she’s got a well digging project in mind right off the bat. She said there’s an ice deposit under the base we can use.”

“Makes sense, we’ll need lots of water. I assume oxygen too can come from the well,” he said, and Kellerman nodded along.

“Hey guys, just so you are aware,” said Hermann, who had strode over to Alphonse and Kellerman, “Carson says he cooked up something for the celebrations tonight. Some berry wine, his first batch.”

“Oh daaaamn,” said Kellerman with a wide grin, “I’ve been waiting for this.”

“As long as we don’t go blind,” added Alphonse with a laugh.

“Doc,” said Kellerman slowly with a serious voice, “you’ve been complaining you have nothing to do and now you’d complain we’d all drink ourselves blind?” Alphonse laughed.

“No I suppose I can’t, can I?” It was in jest but held a kernel of truth. Alphonse and Kellerman had been bored for weeks. They obviously didn’t want anyone to be hurt, but his duties for weeks now had been mostly giving health advice and being a good listener.

The crew on the lander began their post-landing checklists and the watch party started to disperse. Most of the others had tasks to do. Alphonse and Kellerman offered to help out as best they could, but mostly they just felt in the way. Alphonse, bored, decided to head to the botany hall to see if there was something that needed doing.

“Hey Lyndon, I hear there’s a party to be had. Anything you need help with? Something I can do to be useful?”

“Oh…” responded, surprised by the question, “I uh, I’m just the booze maker and that’s all done.”

The same thing happened when he asked Hans Hermann about the plans. So Alphonse waited. He milled around checking on his medical supplies, did some dishes in the kitchen, and monitored the base progress on the video screen. The crew on planet weren’t sticking around. The drones refueled the lander while other drones emptied out the supplies into the pre-planned storages, and soon the craft was back on its way to the ship.

The celebrations began right after that. The crew had been so keyed up waiting for this moment, that the release of tension was incredible. Glasses of berry wine were poured, and cheers filled the room when the crew said they had officially docked. Alphonse, feeling superfluous, decided to go bring some wine to the pilots who were still finishing post-flight checks. He poured two healthy cups and left for the docking area in the center of the ship.

The cups had lids and straws, which was important as he climbed the ladder to the weightless center of Hermes. He wasn’t a big fan of the weightless sensation, but in spite of feeling unsteady and very lightheaded, headed to the airlock by kicking off from the ladder and floating over, cups in hand. He had been wishing he’d asked Kellerman to come along but changed his mind abruptly when he got to the airlock.

“Hey guys I got you some… oh… sorry… wine,” he stammered. Li and Alain were having sex. Li was sitting on Alain’s lap in lotus position, facing away from Alphonse, her legs wrapped around his back, riding him slowly while he sucked on her nipples. His cock, shiny with her wetness, slid in and out of her to their rhythm.

“Oh thanks Gabe,” said Li warmly, turning her head but not slowing her riding.

“Sorry man,” said chuckled Alain, taking a break from Li’s tits, “we said this w-would be the first thing we did when we got back.”

“I’ll leave these… here for you,” said Alphonse awkwardly.

“T-thanks Gabe, ohhhhh,” moaned Li and Alphonse decided it was time to leave. He turned and left the couple, listening to Li moan ever louder as he left.

Alphonse left the two lovers and headed back to the party in the dining hall.

“What’s up,” he asked, as he sat down next to Kellerman and saw she flushed in the face.

“I forgot about how to drink wine,” she said with a laugh. “It’s strong! Where were you?”

“I was… well I went to drop off some cups of wine to the pilots you see… and um…” he trailed off awkwardly.

“Were they… fucking,” asked Kellerman with a naughty grin on her face.

“They were yes, making love in the airlock. They said they’d decided that would be the first thing they did when they got back, so they told me.”

“They talked to you,” giggled Kellerman.

“Oh yes, they didn’t stop or even slow down!”

“That’s…” she began before giggling, “that’s… pretty hot no?”

Alphonse thought about what he saw. The naked intertwined bodies, Li’s moans, the shiny wetness on Alain’s cock.

“Yes, it was,” he said, feeling himself blushing. Kellerman giggled again.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed Gabe.”

Alphonse wanted to explain that he wasn’t embarrassed. He above all, didn’t want Kellerman to feel awkward but also, he didn’t want to seem like a gossip. It couldn’t always be confidentiality in his life, but they hadn’t meant to share the moment with him, so was it OK to tell her? He was still mulling over that question when Tara Dayton sat down with them.

“Hey guys, having a good time,” she asked, holding a cup in one hand.

“We are,” smiled Kellerman.

“Any word on dinner? Pam said she was going to whip up something good,” Dayton told them.

“Haven’t seen her for a while now,” Kellerman told Dayton, “I hope it’s soon though, I’m hungry.”

“We need something to absorb the booze,” chuckled Alphonse, adding “I’ll go check how it’s going. They may need a hand.” He stood and left the two ladies to talk. It was strange for him to try to relax. He was the one to watch over the others, not relax. They get to accomplish great things then have him watch over them. It was always how he was. Be it team parties or mission support, he always felt himself to be the house-dad. Taking care of his crew was a privilege.

He was wondering what Sheldon and Hermann were planning on cooking when he heard a noise in the kitchen. He knew immediately what the sound was, but he kept walking as if in a trance. As he approached, he heard the sound of a metal dish fall to the floor.

“Oh fuck mmmmmm,” moaned Sheldon around the corner of the cooking area. Alphonse peeked around and saw that Pamala Sheldon was bent over the table, naked, and was being railed by Hans Hermann. Alphonse watched silently. “Fuck me Hans fuck me,” cried Sheldon, and Alphonse felt himself stiffen in his jumpsuit.

He felt like a creep, but he kept watching anyways. Hermann grabbed a handful of Sheldon’s hair and pulled her hair back, so she was looking up at the ceiling and grabbed her ass with his free hand.

“Ohhhh fuck me Hans! Fuckmefuckmefuckme,” wailed Sheldon, gripping onto the table. Hermann’s hand fell from her hair and went to her lower back, pinning her down on the table. At that moment, she looked over directly at Alphonse and he froze in place. She smiled, and Alphonse watched her face in minute detail as her orgasm roiled through her, her eyes never leaving Alphonse’s.

“Cum inside me Hans,” she begged, “give it to me!” His thrusts got even more intense, and he groaned loudly. His hands gripped her ass and held her down on the table. Sheldon kept her eyes fixed on Alphonse, moaning loudly, as Hermann blew his load deep inside her. She grinned, and Alphonse realized it was time to go. The last thing he saw was Hermann’s cum dribble out of her when he slid his wet cock out of her.

Alphonse’s face was burning when he left the kitchen. He felt halfway to panic thinking Sheldon might be mad at him, even if she clearly didn’t care in the moment. Hermann, he assumed wouldn’t care if he’d even noticed in the first place. His semi-erect cock bobbed awkwardly in his underwear, and he hoped it wouldn’t be too obvious.

Kellerman was sitting by herself when he returned to the dining room, sipping on her cup of wine. He thought she looked so pretty and content. He sat quickly, hoping to hide the obvious erection.

“Oh, hello Gabe, that was quick. Are they almost done?”

“I… don’t know to be honest,” he said, feeling a blush creeping across his face yet again.

“You didn’t see them,” she asked, looking a little confused.

“Um no, I saw them, but I wasn’t able to ascertain dinner status. They were… Occupied.”

“They were fucking too weren’t they,” she asked, a naughty grin creeping across her face. Alphonse laughed awkwardly.

“Uh, yes, they were,” blushing even more. Kellerman giggled and leaned closer to him.

“That’s hilarious. What… what were they doing?”

“Having sex.”

“No I mean… specifically,” Kellerman whispered.

“Oh…” he paused, taking a big swig of wine, and told Kellerman “they were uh, well Pam was bent over the table and Hans was behind her... I’m a little nervous,” he admitted, “I think Pam saw me.”

“Did she say anything?”

“No… yes, but not to me.”

“What did she say Gabe?”

“She told Hans to finish inside her, which he um, did.”

“Really? That’s so hot.”

“What part?”

“All of it. Being watched, being the watcher, getting bent over a table. Not very hygienic though,” she added, breaking into a giggle.

“Our supper is made on that table guys,” laughed Alphonse. All the sex, all the talk of sex too, had him feeling very horny. Kellerman seemed very eager to talk about it too. He wondered if she was making conversation or was trying to send him a message. Was she into him? He was fairly confident that was so. He was into her too; she was beautiful, smart and funny, but it had just… never happened.

“If those two have been otherwise occupied this whole time, then I guess dinner isn’t ready yet,” said Kellerman, breaking Alphonse’s train of thought. “Want to go get something to eat? There’s some fruit in the botany hall we could snack on.”

“Good idea,” he responded, feeling the flush of the wine in his face. He knew he needed to eat something.

“Lets go,” Kellerman said and the two stood to leave, refilling their cups on the way by. Carson and Dayton were sitting at the table next to the wine talking. Alphonse wasn’t sure where the rest of the crew was. As they were leaving the dining hall Li and Alain walked in. Alain smirked at Alphonse as they walked by.

The pair made their way to the botany hall through the long curving hallway of Hermes. Alphonse didn’t notice the gravity anymore. What was strange and light was now routine; his steps were simply longer and lighter than on Earth. Kellerman’s tall, lithe figure added to the sense of lightness as she walked, stepping once every ten or so meters. The door to the botany hall was ajar and they stepped inside. They faint heard voices as soon as they entered the room.

“Do you hear that,” asked Alphonse. Kellerman responded by shushing him and holding her finger against his lips. Then, silently, she beckoned him to walk in the direction of the sounds.

“Ohh professor, I’ve been so bad,” came Ramona Wagner’s voice from down the botany hall. Kellerman, wide eyed, made a come-hither motion with her fingers and Alphonse tip toed behind her.

“Your test scores are unsatisfactory Miss,” said Professor Schwartz in a serious, condescending tone that sounded nothing like how he usually spoke. Kellerman hid behind a clutch of vines and then parted them gently to see.

“I’m so so sorry professor. I’ll do anything you want, just please give me a good grade,” pouted Wagner. Kellerman beckoned Alphonse to where she was standing. The two crouched down, hidden.

“Check it out,” she whispered, indicating to where he could peek through the vines. He saw Wagner first, her jumpsuit tied up around her waist. Schultz was standing in front of her and between them was an intercom on a tripod, clearly recording.

“Are they…” he began and Kellerman cut him off.

“Shhhh Gabe,” she breathed, inches from his face. She was so close he could smell the soap she used. He wanted to reach out and touch her but he resisted the urge and instead, the two watched Wagner as she pulled her tank top over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her full breasts jiggled when she flipped the top over them. He saw Kellerman’s eyebrows raise in admiration.

“Slut, get on your knees,” said Schwartz harshly. Alphonse felt Kellerman’s hand drift to his back, resting between his shoulder blades. The pair watched Schwartz undo his jumpsuit and as Wagner fell to her knees, he pulled out his erect cock. He was surprised how well endowed the professor was.

“That’s how you get an A missy,” Schwartz said as Wagner took his thick erect cock in her mouth. She started to bob and slurped loudly on him.

“Oh my god,” breathed Kellerman into Alphonse’s ear.

“Good girl,” grunted Schwartz. He grabbed Wagner’s hair and roughly facefucked her, making her gag loudly. Kellerman shifted her hips as they crouched together. Was she getting excited, Alphonse wondered.

“We… we should go before they’re done or we’ll be caught,” he whispered.

“Spoilsport,” whispered Kellerman, nodding.

“Suck my cock you little whore,” groaned Schwartz loudly. Kellerman smiled a smile Alphonse hadn’t seen before. He was sure now that she was getting excited by the show, and he knew he was. The two slipped away quietly, leaving the sound of Wagner giving head behind them.

“Holy shit that was so sexy,” gushed Kellerman when they got out of the room, making sure to close the door quietly as they left. “Ramona knows what she’s doing.”

“The professor seemed to be having fun,” he said with a smile.

“She has such nice perky tits. I can see why they were recording. Nice little body on her.”

“She’s very good looking,” agreed Alphonse. In spite of seeing Ramona suck cock so expertly, it wasn’t Ramona he was thinking about, but Kellerman. His imagination was going wild, and he could almost see Kellerman on her knees, topless, inhaling his cock just like Ramona.

“You were enjoying the view too, clearly,” smirked Kellerman, noticing that he was tenting his jumpsuit. Alphonse felt himself blush.

“Oh I’m sorry it’s just…” he began but she cut him off.

“Don’t worry about it Gabe,” she said with a laugh, “it was super hot, I’d be surprised if you weren’t hard.”

“I uh, didn’t want things to be awkward,” he stuttered.

“It’s not,” she said, smiling, then she leaned closer to him, so close he could smell the berry wine on her breath when she whispered in his ear “I’m so horny.”

Alphonse felt his heart quicken with excitement. He took a swig of his wine to hide or at least explain away the flush on his face. The two made their way back to the dining hall and refilled their cups. Sheldon and Hermann were cooking in the kitchen and smells of onions and garlic wafted into the hall.

“Guess they’re done now,” giggled Kellerman.

“They must be,” he said with a nod. They hadn’t sat down and Kellerman took his hand in hers.

“Come with me,” she said softly, and led him hand in hand out of the dining hall toward her room. She put a playful wiggle into her stride and Alphonse’s eyes never left her pert, round ass. As the pair walked into the habitation area, a voice played over and over in Alphonse’s head telling him he was finally about to get laid. As they walked past the door to the gym and showers, Kellerman gasped and stopped dead in her tracks.

“Listen,” she whispered urgently. There were moans, soft, but insistent, coming from the shower room. Kellerman’s eyes were bugged out of her head as she listened at the door, beckoning Alphonse over to her.

“Who is that? Colby,” he asked.

“Yeah I think so. Want to see?” Alphonse nodded along. He was shocked at this point that so many of the crew were having sex all at the same time. It almost beggared belief.

Kellerman took a big swig of her cup of wine and then ever-so-gently opened the door. The gym was accessed through the shower rooms, and luckily for the two of them, the shower rooms were unoccupied. They snuck in and then walked as quietly as possible to the entrance to the gym and listened at the door. The sounds were louder and more distinct.

“Ohhh Sam that’s so good baby,” Colby Smith moaned through the door.

“I think he’s eating her out,” whispered Kellerman into Alphonse’s ear. He nodded in agreement.

“Just right there baby,” came Smith’s voice, confirming what they suspected. “Yes, baby right there.”

Alphonse watched Kellerman’s hand drift up to her breasts. She face was flushed and excited. He looked down to see he was tenting the front of his jumpsuit.

“Mmmm someone’s enjoying himself,” she whispered, placing her hand on his back.

“Fuck baby I’m gonna… fuck I’m gonna cum,” wailed Smith through the door, who then broke into gasping cries of ecstasy. All the while Alphonse felt Kellerman’s hand slide from the small of his back around his waist. Then she started to rub his erection over his tented pants. He sighed with desire. The danger made his cock ache with desire for more. A need for more. He felt like he was going to explode with lust.

“Bend over babe,” came San Hayden’s voice for the first time. Then they heard him groan.

“He’s inside her,” Kellerman whispered. The hand she wasn’t using to rub Alphonse’s cock slid up to her zipper and she undid her jumpsuit and started to rub her right breast under her top. Feeling like he was moving in slow motion, Alphonse slid his own hand up to his zipper and opened his jumpsuit. Kellerman needed no invitation, and he felt her warm little hand slide under his underwear and start to gently rub his throbbing erection. She lifted her shirt with her other hand and exposed her breasts. He rubbed her beautiful round tits and tweaked her nipples while they listened to Colby Smith orgasm again through the door.

“Ah fuckfuck I’m… I’m gonna,” moaned Hayden through the door and groaned loudly.

“Mmm we need to go,” whispered Alphonse, enjoying the handjob. Kellerman nodded and the two slipped out, zipping themselves back up as the left. When they stepped out of the shower room, Kellerman pinned him up against the wall and started to kiss him deeply.

“You’re, hic, so shexy baby,” she drawled between deep kisses. Her tongue danced around his.

“So are you,” he said softly, his hands all over her jumpsuit clad body. When they got to his room, he led her in without a word. She tripped on the doorway. **** clouded his thoughts. Was she too drunk?

Kellerman undressed in front of him. Her body was fit, and tight. Her long legs met at a perfect little sexy triangle of blonde hair above her clit. Her breasts were medium sized and perfectly shaped and her nipples hard like pencil erasers. Her gaze was unfocused. She laid in his bed and pulled the covers over herself, then beckoned him in.

“Un second beautiful,” he stammered, realizing halfway through he’d switched to French. “Must use the lavatory first.”

Alphonse hid his erection and walked down the hall to the bathrooms, realizing how drunk he was as he walked. The berry wine had hit him like a ton of bricks, and he realized that he hadn’t been walking straight. He tried not to say much to Hayden and Smith as they passed in the hallway, but he smelled their sex. In the bathroom he splashed water on his face to try to wake him up a little, then he used the facilities and headed back to his room.

He was excited, but also nervous as he strode back. The worry she was too intoxicated wouldn’t leave his mind, but he wanted her so badly. He’d judge when he talked to her in his room, he decided. He’d ask her straight up if it was too much and then, hopefully, he’d finally get that sweet, sweet pussy he’d been wanting for so long.

He strode back into his room and found stillness and silence. The only sound was the gentle breathing of Ilsa Kellerman in his bed, clearly completely passed out. He laughed at his situation. Everyone on the damn ship was getting laid but him. He considered sleeping with her, not to have sex, but to share the bed, but decided against it. What if she woke up unhappy about that? He knew she was naked after all. Instead he dumped some bath towels on the floor and pulled the spare blankets from his closet as quietly as possible.

Another time, he thought, another time.