Putting on a Show

Ramona Wagner’s fear couldn’t hold back her excitement as the rocket shuddered violently. The salvaged SpaceY machine vibrated and creaked as the landing rockets fired, and Wagner felt herself pressed hard into her seat. She hated the flying, but the destination was a thrill.

Min Li, Tara Dayton, and Colby Smith started undoing their seat belts and standing up. Wagner followed suit, grateful to stretch her back out after hours in that same seat. The four Green Mars Corporation personnel had just arrived at the Red Rock colony site, and they were eager to see what lay in store.

The ramp dropped with a hum and the four strode out of the rocket to see a delegation of people in matching white walking suits. The first, a tall man with a visible dark beard, greeted them with outstretched hand. In her ear, the intercom crackled to life.

“Welcome Green Martians!”

“Thank you so much,” Dayton responded as she strode ahead and accepted the handshake. “I’m Tara, we talked via email, and I’d just like to say thank you so much for the invite.”

“You are very welcome here, all of you,” the man responded graciously, “my name is Steve and I’m the mission commander here. Come in everyone and lets get you all out of these space suits.” The delegation led the Green Martians to a low, brick clad building near the launch pad. It gave Wagner the impression of a cave.

“Welcome welcome, step in here,” he said, guiding everyone into what was clearly an airlock. “There we are, Jonsie, be so kind as to activate the doors please.” The airlock entrance closed behind them, and with a loud hiss, the pressures began to equalize. “You may remove your helmets now,” Steve said as he unbuckled his.

The inner door opened to reveal a large, spacious accommodation carved right into the rock. There were more people in one place than Wagner had seen in months. At least twenty according to her quick count.

“This is incredible,” breathed Li, who was standing next to Wagner, pulling her gloves off.

“I guess if they’re miners they have the gear to just hollow out a mountain,” Wagner said, her eyes wide, looking around.

“A lot of men,” noticed Li, who cast her eyes around the room. Wagner was surprised at that, and after it was pointed out, she couldn’t stop noticing.

“Welcome to Red Rock ladies,” Steve said, gesturing his arms at the cave-habitat. “We have 34 colonists here and I must say, we’re very happy with our progress.”

“This is incredible Steve,” Dayton said admiringly.

“Thank you so much. It’s nice to see some new faces after so long with these mugs,” he laughed. “Look at me, I’m talking and talking. Come in, I’ll show you to your guest quarters and you can get out of those suits and get settled in. Come come.”

Steve let the Green Martians down a narrow red corridor to a series of rooms that like the rest of the habitat, were carved right out of the living rock. They each had their own room, and each was slightly larger than their own back home. Wagner headed to the bathroom down the hall. Again, the space was luxurious. As Wagner explored, she discovered happily that there was even separate men and women’s facilities. After sweating bullets for hours on the rocket, she was thrilled to get cleaned up.

Wagner got dressed, and ready for the day’s activities. She even wore a bra, something she didn’t do much in the low gravity on Mars. She felt so formal, and put together, even though she was wearing the same clothes she always did. The Green Martians gathered together after they got settled in outside their rooms. All four were dressed in their uniform jumpsuits, foregoing the sweaters and cut-off suits that they had almost all been wearing on the station.

“Hey gang, you all ready,” Dayton asked lightly when all were assembled.

“Good to go,” smiled Li. Smith grinned happily. Wagner was excited but the entire experience felt so very strange. Even though she was basically wearing the same clothes she always wore, she felt so dressed up and fancy. They walked down the corridor, and upon arriving back in the main room they’d entered, saw that Steve was waiting for them.

“Welcome once again Green Martians,” he beamed. “This is so exciting, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for coming to visit. Your shuttle is being refueled as we speak and well, we’d just love to get to know you and your mission more.”

“Thank you so much for your hospitality, Steve,” Dayton responded. Wagner estimated most of the crew of Red Rock was there in the room, she counted at least 25, and many were whispering to one another, which Wagner thought was interesting.

Steve started onto a speech for the assembled colonists, mostly discussing the nature of Mars, the planned cooperation between the two colonies, and their mutual sustainment plans. Exports, money and mining rights were not discussed.

“Now then, I would welcome you all to meet your opposite numbers. My plan here, and Tara, do feel free step in here,” Steve explained, “I was thinking you four would meet with representatives from our mission that best match up with your specialties. Does that make sense?”

“That sounds great,” Dayton responded. “You are my opposite number I take it?”

Steve nodded and he and Dayton headed to his office while three other people, two men and a woman, joined the other three Green Martians. The one that introduced himself to Wagner was a stocky young man with piercing blue eyes, freckles, and reddish-blonde hair. Like all of the Red Rock crew, he wore a two-piece red uniform with a green badge with the shape of a green leafy wreath.

“Ramona Wagner?”

“That’s me,” she said with a smile. She couldn’t help but notice that the man clearly recognized her before they spoke.

“I’m Dave, I’m one of the farming team here. Thank you so much for coming,” he said, shaking Wagner’s hand as he spoke. He had an American accent, and she guessed he was from the South. He was an odd guy, Wagner thought. Nervous, shy seeming, and quirky. “It’s an honor.”

An honor? That’s an odd turn of phrase Wagner thought, but she brushed past it. Clearly, this team was well organized, and efficient, and she was very keen to find out their process.

“Thank you so much,” she beamed. “This is a lovely habitat, so spacious,” she gushed. Dave led her down a long hallway deeper into the habitat. The air was damp and musty as they got deeper into the habitat. Moisture hung on the red cavern walls and dripped from the ceiling.

“Sorry about the water, we’re finding that the irrigation system tends to leave a ton of residual water in the air that we’re trying to recover,” Dave explained, “call it a work in progress, right? Here, Ramona, is the real deal.” He opened a large set of double doors, and nearly blinding sheer light poured forth from the doorway. Inside was an enormous, cavernous room, and under it, thousands of plants were growing.

“As you can see, we have quite the inventory here,” Dave said, gesturing to the plants, “and on top of what’s here, we have plans for another expansion into the rock. Might even get chickens.”

“I miss eggs so bad Dave,” giggled Wagner.

“Haha me too,” he chuckled. “Ah see here’s our farm staff, everyone, meet Ramona.” The crew murmured pleasantries, and some whispered amongst themselves again. For the next several hours, Wagner was shepherded between various plant stations, and Dave and the other farmers beamed with pride showing her their successes.

“This is incredible work Dave,” she exclaimed at the end of a busy day. “These plants are all so healthy and strong, I’m very impressed.”

“I can’t wait to see your setup Ramona,” Dave said. “I’ve no doubt, it’s beautiful and well cared for.” As they spoke Wagner noticed Steve walk into the farm and he grabbed Dave’s attention. After some murmured words, the two approached Wagner.

“Well, dinner is almost ready, so Steve is here to take you to our next big event,” Dave said gracefully.

“We’ve got quite the feast laid on,” beamed Steve. Wagner followed Steve back down the long damp hallway, emerging into the main room with the other Green Martians. Li was speaking in excited tones with Dayton about their drone launch facilities.

“And also, they can control them manually as well as remote,” she told Dayton, then seeing Wagner looked to her, adding, “heeey girl how was the farm?”

“They’ve got an incredible setup here guys,” Wagner said with obvious excitement in her voice. “The place is huuuuuge.”

“So is their R&D lab,” added Smith. “They showed me this project they’re working on that I think Pam would be interested in. It’s about ground scanning for rare earth minerals but like, they’ve got so many projects.”

“We’ll have a proper debrief when we get back,” Dayton said, addressing Smith, who nodded. “Cool so for now,” Dayton continued, addressing the rest of the crew, “we have a nice ol’ party to go to.”

“Sausage party,” chirped Li with a giggle. Wagner had noticed in the farm that at least two thirds of the crew there were men, and the same ratio seemed to apply with the rest of the crew too.

“Bunch of miners, I’m hardly surprised,” Dayton chimed in and the four Martians nodded. “Ready to go?”

The four headed to the dining hall, conveniently signposted on the cave-like wall. Like the rest of the station, the dining hall was large by comparison to theirs. The tables, instead of lightweight alloy, were made from red stone, with matching carved stone benches along the long sides of them.

“Welcome friends, welcome,” gushed Steve when the Green Martians entered, “this is our dining hall and as you can see, we have quite the feast laid on.” At the tables sat the entire crew of the Red Rock station, with big serving dishes on the tables full of steaming food, and big jugs of a purple drink on each along with cups. “We have you set to sit among the teams you were with today, but no pressure, sit wherever you like.” Wagner, feeling friendly, sat in the empty seat next to Dave. The chair was hard, and decidedly uncomfortable, but she sad with grace, nevertheless. She accepted an offered cup of the purple beverage, and the smell of **** hit her nose instantly.

“This is our specialty,” Dave beamed, “a robust blackberry wine, grown, brewed and bottled right here at the Red Rock habitat.” Wagner took a swig of the proffered beverage and coughed.

“That’s… strong,” she giggled, taking another sip of the sweet, boozy beverage.

“It’s the good stuff,” another man, who sat across from Wagner said. He was taller than Dave, and she’d seen him before when they were touring the farm. He was pale, like Dave, and had a noticeable flush on his face.

“It is, our lead botanist, Lyndon, is making some strawberry wine but it’s not ready yet, sadly,” Wagner told the assembled farmers. The meal was a warm bean salad, not dissimilar to what the cooks back home made, with a quinoa medley on the side. She enjoyed it, and along with the food, the wine was plentiful. She was already on her second glass when dissert arrived. It was a tofu mousse with a side of fresh raspberries that tasted like candy.

“I hear you got weed,” the man across the table said.

“Yeah, Lyndon grows several strains,” she explained, “for medicinal needs and also because it’s fun.”

“Mad jelly,” the man said, “we don’t have any and I miss the fuck outta getting high. I’m Jake, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Jake,” Wagner said with a smile.

“It’s reaaaally nice to meet you in person Ramona,” he responded, his words slurring slightly.

“W-what do you mean in person,” Wagner, bemused, asked.

“Well uhm,” stuttered Jake.

“He means you’re something of a celebrity here,” Dave chimed in awkwardly.

“A celebrity,” Wagner, getting more confused, asked.

“Gonna make me say it,” said Jake, blushing even more. The realization of just what he meant hit Wagner like thunderbolt.

“You mean my uh, videos,” she asked, feeling herself blushing. The men around the table, and the one woman, all nodded, smiled, or otherwise acknowledged she had guessed right.

“I’m sorry about him,” hissed the only woman, a famer named Jane, to Wagner. She smiled appreciatively. Her awkwardness was already fading; she was nothing if not used to the eyes of many on her.

“Thanks Jane,” she said with a warm smile. “It’s fine, and nice to know I have so many fans.”

“Basically everyone here is a fan Ramona,” laughed Jake.

“I’m very glad to hear it,” she said, smiling warmly and feeling the flush of **** on her face. She only wanted Raynor, but the attention made her feel very sexy, and it was deeply gratifying. She could feel the eyes of the entire Red Rock crew on her, or at least she felt like they were.

After dissert the entire crew assembled, drinks in hand, near the head table where Steve, Dayton, and a group what Wagner assumed to be the leaders of Red Rock. Steve appeared to be the ultimate showman, and was eagerly carousing with the assembled people when Wagner arrived.

“Welcome once again my friends, to Red Rock,” he exclaimed, the room, which had got quiet, erupted into happy cheers. “Thank you, friends. We’re truly, honored to have you with us, and honored to continue to work together. A toast! To our Green Mars!” The assembled people lifted their glasses and toasted.

“And to Red Rock,” Dayton added after everyone was done their toast, “may our work together be harmonious and successful.” Once again, the crowd eagerly cheers’ed. Wagner thought Dayton sounded drunk. Li sidled up beside her.

“Hey hot stuff,” she hissed in Wagner’s ear, her breath smelling of wine, “I have some gossip.”

“What is it,” Wagner responded, leaning in to hear Li over the din. She was pretty sure she knew exactly what the gossip was but wanted to hear it from Li before guessing.

“You. Are. Famoush,” Li slurred.

“And you. Are. Hammered,” giggled Wagner.

“Irrelevant,” Li giggled. “All these guys here think you’re the hottest piece on Mars.”

“Yeah, I heard from the farming crew,” Wagner said with a mischievous giggle. “I guess I made I’m Martian Mainstream.” In the back of her mind, Wagner had realized there was no keeping this secret anymore: the cat was most definitely out of the bag. She mulled it over and decided she was fine with it. Afterall; if Smith, Dayton, Carson, Alain, Li, and of course, Schwartz all knew, what was the point in even keeping it a secret?

“Is it weird, knowing that they’ve all like… seen you,” Li asked in a whisper.

“Honestly,” Wagner said, thinking her answer over for a moment, “it’s actually pretty hot.”

“That’s so awesome,” Li said with yet another giggle. Around them, the short speeches over, the crews relaxed and started socializing. Music started playing over a set of speakers near the head table.

“It’s not like, super weird or anything,” explained Wagner, raising her voice over the din around them enough that Li could hear, “cus like, I used to strip right. So the idea that people are looking at me naked, it’s not weird to me. Or even like, unusual to be honest.” Then she added after a brief pause, “especially on our ship.” Li, who was clearly a giggly drunk, giggled once again.

“Everyone but Liz has seen me and Eric bang,” Li said and Wagner laughed in response.

“So I heard something super weird,” Colby Smith said as she approached the two women. She wasn’t looking as **** as the other two, Wagner thought.

“Let me guess,” she said with mischievousness on her face, “I’m a celebrity porn star on Red Rock!” Smith looked taken aback.

“Um, I guess they told you too eh,” she said after a moment.

“Yeah they’re pretty star struck,” Wagner grinned.

“Is it uh… true,” Smith breathed, her eyes wide.

“Yeah,” Wagner said lightly. “The Professor and I have a fine little side gig we’d been keeping more or less secret but uh, I guess not anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” Smith exclaimed, looking awkward and self conscious, “I won’t tell anyone back home like, if it’s a problem or whatever.”

“Don’t worry about it Colby,” Wagner assured her. “Honestly it was getting pointless to keep it a secret anyways. **** of habit, I guess. Honestly, it’s kind of a relief it’s done if I’m being real.”

Smith went back to talk to Dayton and left Li and Wagner to their conversation. The Red Rock crew were nearby and pleasantly social, but clearly made awkward by their isolation, as the Green Martians were too. It was strange for them, Wagner guessed, to see strangers in their colony. She got talking to a friendly, cute Red Rock miner named Tessa. She was a bit older than Wagner, blonde, and had a light Australian accent. She said she was from Melbourne and intended to head back there after her five-year stint was up.

“How does that work? The short contract I mean,” Wagner asked her.

“Well,” Tessa explained, “I signed on for five years here, plus travel, so more loike seven, but they pay me for five. The job pays really really well, like, so well, and when it’s over, they’re supposed to come pick me up on one of the ore return flights.”

“Do you worry they won’t… I dunno, come pick you up,” Wagner asked.

“Yeah, I do but like, what can I do about it? Just gotta keep workin,” Tessa said, waving off the concern. “It’s like worrying about what happened to the SpaceY losers ya know? Just don’t bother cus what are you gonna do about it?”

“We have the survivor at our place eh,” Wagner said.

“I heard you got the one that got away. Lucky girl,” Tessa said.

“Yeah, she is. Plus she’s not bad for a SpaceY,” Wagner said with a grin.

“That’s good, that’s good,” Tessa said absently, clearly already thinking about something else. What that something else was immediately clear. “So um, can I ask you something?”

“Go for it,” Wagner said, taking a big pull of her wine, knowing what was coming.

“What’s uh, what’s it like being in um… films,” the blonde Aussie asked. Wagner smiled warmly, entertained by her coyness.

“It’s pretty awesome. I didn’t expect that I’d be so uh, famous, when I came here.”

“I hope it’s OK that I asked,” Tessa said, clearly afraid of embarrassing Wagner. She smiled.

“It’s fine, honestly. I’m not unused to the spotlights on me.”

“Good good, I’m glad,” Tessa said, looking relieved. She looked at her shoes as she spoke, “I really like your work.” Wagner wasn’t sure if it was the excitement or the ****, but knowing this pretty woman liked her porn thrilled her and she wanted to know more.

“What’s your favorite,” she asked, and she watched as Tessa’s eyes widened with excitement.

“Oh. Oh um, I guess, probably your solo stuff,” she said, blushing noticeably even in the dim light of the dining hall. “I’m not really into guys, so like, you’re super hot but your videos with the Professor aren’t exactly my thing.”

“Of course,” Wagner nodded. Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she spoke. “Next time I make one is there something you’d like to see?” Tessa’s blush became even redder, and she took a big swig of wine before she spoke.

“Oh um, oh,” Tessa stammered. “I uh, I really liked the ones where you were in your room, with your toys, and it showed your pleasure. It was so hot!” Wagner smiled, feeling the heat building between her thighs while she pictured Tessa touching herself while watching her on video.

“I can do that.”

“Have you uh,” Tessa said, then stopped herself until Wagner nodded, as to give her permission to say what she wanted to say. “Have you been with a girl?”

“I have, a while ago. It’s fun! But, uh, I’d need to talk about something like that with Raynor of course,” she said. She wasn’t sure in the moment if Tessa was coming on to her or making a request. Either way, it thrilled her.

“Totally totally,” she said quickly. “I don’t mean like me or nothing! But like, if you and your man were interested in making a video like that…”

Wagner nodded in a friendly way and was just about to tell her that she absolutely would talk to Raynor about that. In fact, she was already thinking about which lucky lady it would be, when a man from the Red Rock crew interrupted them.

“Yoooo Ramona!”

“Oh fuck off Jason,” Tessa spat.

“Whaaaat, you’re not the only one that wants to talk to the beautiful lady,” Jason chided. He was clearly hammered. “Soooo Ramona, it’s great to meet you in person.”

“Yes yes, I know I’m a big deal,” she said, rolling her eyes dramatically for Tessa.

“This whole crew, honestly, is in love with you,” he said, burping loudly after he spoke. “Uhg fuck. Like seriously, even the girls watch your stuff! Right Tess?”

“Fuck. Off. Jason,” Tessa, who was clearly embarrassed, said. “You’re such a prick.”

“You love it short stuff,” he mocked.

“Have a nice evening Jason,” Wagner added, trying to send the hint.

“OK OK damn,” he said in a mocking tone, and departed.

“Fucking annoying prick,” Tessa said in an annoyed tone.

“It’s OK honestly. I used to strip and the guys that would approach me back then…. Fucking awful,” she told Tessa.

“You used to strip,” Tessa responded, eyes a little wider.

“Yeah, back home in Germany before I joined the project,” Wagner explained. “It was for money of course, I needed the cash for school but to be honest with you, I loved it.”

“That’s so amazing,” Tessa gushed. Wagner wondered if Tessa was picturing it, and she figured the answer was probably yes.

“It was a thrill. Having all those eyes on my body… it was… exciting.” She looked around the room. Some of the Red Rock people had left but most were standing around, drinking, regaling the Green Martians with stories, listening to theirs, and a few were even dancing to the loud music.

“That’s so hot,” Tessa breathed, barely audible over the music. Wagner hadn’t considered what would happen at Red Rock, at least not enough to talk about it with Schwartz. She seriously considered hooking up with the pretty little Australian but was held back thinking of the violation of trust that would be. Even if Raynor was OK with it, she thought, it’s not something she should do without talking about it with him. She took a big swig of wine, finishing the cup, and looked to Tessa.

“Hey I’m gonna refill this, uh, I’ll be back OK?” Tessa nodded, and Wagner headed to the drinks table and refilled her cup with the sweet, dark wine. An idea was formed in her head she couldn’t shake, and as she walked to where the music controls were, she felt like she was in slow motion, watching herself do it. She picked up the music player which was an old MP3 player connected to the speakers with a hardline. The next songs in the queue were perfect for what she had in mind.

“Excuse me for one moment,” she said loudly after turning the music down a few notches. She felt all the eyes of the station on her in rapt attention as she spoke. “Hi everyone, as you all apparently know, my name is Ramona.” A cheer erupted from the crowd and she took a swing while the noise subsided. “Hehe yeah you all know. So I didn’t realize I had so many fans here, but um, well, I feel like I should, by way of thanking you all, give you a bit of a show.” Another, louder cheer erupted, and she could clearly see Tessa was leading the charge. “You can thank Tessa for this, folks,” she added, seeing Tessa blush and cover her mouth when she said it.

With that short address, Wagner turned the music back on, letting the song end and the new one build up. She saw Dayton looking at her, a mixture of bemusement and happiness in her face. Wagner thought it appropriate that Dayton was probably thinking about how good a bit of fame and popularity would be for relations. That was fine with Wagner. She started to dance, using the stone table as a prop in place of a pole. Loud happy cheers sounded when she started to wiggle her butt towards the assembled crew. She worried that some of them would be upset or offended, but nobody left, and everyone was watching intently as she danced.

After a bit of twerking, she gave her ass a firm slap, then turned around to sit on the table for a moment, and dramatically unzipped her jumpsuit, wishing she’d worn her two-piece. She pulled her arms less than gracefully out of the sleeves, then stood quickly, pushing the suit off leaving her just in her underwear and singlet. She peeled that off to the music, leaving her in just panties, bra and socks as the first song finished.

The crowd seemed to think she was done, and a couple people even started applauding when the next song came on, but Wagner kept dancing. She showed off her thong-clad butt and twerked some more for them, giving her ass another slap, the sound echoing around the room this time. Then, her back to the crowd, she unfastened her lacey, black bra, and let it fall to the floor in front of her. There were hoots and cheers when she turned, her hands covering her breasts. She danced a bit more, teasing the crowd before revealing her tits. Her nipples were hard, partially because of the cold, but she was also incredibly aroused.

Next, she found Tessa in the crowd and pointed to her. Her eyes widened, and Wagner indicated with her fingers for her to come over and sit down in front of her. She did so, and Wagner danced for her, letting the rest of the crew watch as she lap danced for Tessa and rubbed her soft tits and erect nipples on Tessa’s face. She made no effort to stop Tessa from groping both her breasts and figured Schwartz would understand.

The second song ended and the third began. She broke away a few feet from Tessa, and turned around, putting her thong-clad ass in front of her, and indicating to her panties, telling her to pull them down. Tessa did so while the crowd cheered. Wagner could feel her wetness on them as they were dragged down, and she stepped out of them with practiced grace and started to dance for the crowd. She twerked in front of Tessa, and she smacked her ass lightly. Then Wagner turned and showed the assembled crowd her fully nude body. Her pussy was smooth but for a small stripe of red hair above her clit, and she mimicked touching herself while she danced.

Turning, Wagner showed the crowd her ass again and spread her cheeks so that they’d have a good view of her holes. She was so aroused she wondered if the crowd could see her wetness. She was wildly horny, and almost wanted someone to walk up behind her and fuck her.

Almost.

But the crowd stayed respectful, or at least respectful enough not to try to touch her. The music faded, and with the sounds of disappointment emanating from the crowd, she started dressing. Except for her panties. When she was dressed, she walked up to Tessa and handed her the little wad of wet material.

“That was saoow hot babe,” Tessa told her over the general din of the party.

“You keep those hun,” she said in Tessa’s ear.