Regan's Reach Page 17

  Passing his room on the way to the gym he was standing there already, as if waiting. "Are you ready for a beating?" she asked, smiling.

  "Your confidence exceeds your height, oh stocky one." Marin flexed his arms comically.

  His strength had definitely improved and he was getting back into good shape. After a month of inactivity it had taken him weeks of hard work but he was now close to Regan in leg and arm strength. She knew her strength bothered him but he had no idea of her background and hadn't bothered to check. With the advantage of a lifetime in Earth's gravity Regan suspected it was unlikely he would ever beat her in the strength department, although having said that, he was certainly trying.

  The circuit routine they had established worked well and they chatted as they moved from machine to machine, building up a sweat, muscles pumped. Regan changed machines again and paused for breath on a device similar to her bench press at home.

  Lying back on the bench, legs splayed, she reached up to adjust the weights and realized Marin was watching her. She made as if to struggle, "Marin, could you reach the weight for me please, just one more notch."

  He stepped over her making much of the effort and reached for the lever, their bodies now only centimeters apart. She looked up at him with a teasing smile and to his surprise gently squeezed his crotch.

  "Now I have you in my power." she taunted.

  A look passed between them and it felt to her as if a shot of electricity went through her body. Marin stood with one leg still on either side of the bench and without a word reached up to peel the suit down off his shoulders so that it gathered around his waist. She found her hands reaching to stroke his chest and then reached herself for her suit, with his help pulling it down exposing her breasts to his gaze.

  Their eyes locked in silent compact with both still breathing heavily and sweat dripping from their foreheads. He stepped aside and grasped her suit stripping it from her in one movement like a second skin. Then, throwing hers to the side he gripped his own, pushing it to his ankles and kicking it away. Still prone on the bench Regan felt a thrill of tension as her eyes locked on him, already erect. He stepped across her once more, his legs on either side of hers and she reached, taking him in both hands.

  She looked up and caught his eyes. "Marin, under the bench, there's oil . . ."

  He looked surprised, and then bent to the side as she continued to stroke him. He came up with the tube smiling.

  "Well." Regan said blushing, "A girl scout should always be prepared." and they both laughed.

  Marin squeezed a generous stream of oil on to her hands and she gripped him, massaging nervously. He then shuffled back slightly and pouring a last portion on to her used his hand to press himself down to her opening. She wanted to raise her legs but trapped there could only gasp as he toyed with her, flooded with the same feeling of wonderful erotic tension she had felt in the Medlab except here she was the subject. He held himself there, poised at her entrance, his eyes locked on her face and the anticipation was unbearable.

  "Oh . . . my . . . god." she whispered, eyes closed, as he entered.

  Several seconds passed . . . and then she felt him begin to move inside, his pace slowly building. She groaned with pleasure.

  Later, they showered together in Marin's room, still in the flush of satisfaction, soaping each other's bodies and taking their time. She marveled at his ability to keep an erection, found it flattering in fact, and rewarded him with her hands.

  In a state of calm bliss they headed for the galley and breakfast.

  "Good workout?" said Ham, not really expecting a reply.

  They didn't answer, they knew none was needed.

  Brunch, as it turned out, was relaxed, warm and friendly. They were three interesting personalities enjoying each other's company and Marin's comfort with this new relationship made all the difference, his sullenness all but gone. He seemed relaxed, joking with Ham and teasing him like an old friend.

  He's out of the closet, thought Regan.

  She took the lead in getting down to business. "Guys, we need to talk about Dahlia and we need a strategy. I've thought about this and while I don't want to jeopardize either of you, I desperately want to experience the orbital. You can't imagine what this means to me to be here, to have come this far and hide on the ship, well, it's just unthinkable!"

  "It wouldn't work anyway," said Marin. "My niece and nephew will want to come on the ship, they always do, and if I say no they'll be suspicious."

  "And we need to resupply." added Ham. "While there's no real reason for people to come into the crew area they normally do anyway, these are friends after all. To lock them out will raise suspicion."

  "So." Regan asked, quickly moving into planning mode, "How do we handle this?"

  "I'll appeal to my mother." Marin offered. "I'll confess that I was drawn to visit the planet, that it was wrong but compelling. She will understand. I'll admit it was a monumental blunder, I was hurt and you saved my life. We don't need to reveal I was unconscious, just that I needed help to regain the Pod."

  "So how do we explain that I'm still here?" Regan asked.

  "You don't explain anything!" Ham interjected. "You can't reveal that you speak the language. It will give everything away and Marin, your mother is the devil. She won't fall for this."

  "She's my mother!" Marin said it strongly but looked full of doubt himself. He turned back to her and took both her arms.

  "Regan, we'll make this work as long as you stay silent. We will say that I couldn't walk, you didn't know what was happening, that we . . . I, had to abduct you. I will say that I now owe you a debt of honor, that I must return you." It was less than convincing.

  Ham groaned. "I don't like this. Marin, you're blinded by your feelings, and honor. Your mother - she's not reasonable . . . this doesn't look good."

  "What choice do we have?" Marin sounded desperate.

  "Ok, ok," Regan moved to calm things. "We can make this work. I'll stay quiet, I can act dumb."

  "Easily and convincingly" said Ham, unable to resist the opportunity.

  She didn't bite. "So, I stay quiet and follow Marin's lead, no problem."

  "Also, you can't sub vocalize with Ham. They'll pick up the signal." Marin started to look more worried, there were hooks all through this plan.

  "Actually," said Ham, "I can communicate with Regan, you can say it's just the ship trying to contact you, an automatic thing."

  "That could work." and Marin looked more positive, "But you must resist the temptation to reply." he waited for Regan to nod agreement.

  "It'll be difficult while Marin is in treatment," said Ham. "Marin, I don't like to say this but we don't even know what the problem is, it might be easily fixed, it might take time. Regan will be at the mercy of your mother and every other interested observer while you're gone, she could end up a trophy."

  "I'll appeal to my sister, she'll support me and look after Regan, I'm sure of it. I won't leave Regan in my mother's hands."

  Regan decided to change the subject, hopefully to reduce the tension.

  "Tell me about your family Marin, who will I meet there?" She reached out her arm and touched his shoulder encouragingly.

  He looked at her, hopeful but far from confident. "My mother definitely will be there, she always greets me, her name is Beria, it means sunset."

  "In her case, the name's apt." Ham added, clearly not a fan.

  Marin ignored him and continued. "Probably my younger sister Sindali will be there, and her twins, my niece Buela and nephew Rhine. It's unlikely but one or both of my younger brothers Brun and Sarin might come. Ours is an influential family as my father . . ."

  "Now there was a truly great man!" Ham interrupted.

  "My father," Marin continued after an annoyed pause, "as a descendant of one of the building families, was the senior council member and my mother now sits in his seat. I will not take that seat, I'm no politician. My sister Sindali is well respected and will fill that role well
, in fact the council wants her there sooner rather than later."

  "Unfortunately the witch is not . . ."

  "Ham!" Regan scolded him. "This is Marin's mother."

  Surprisingly Marin supported Ham, "Regan, I'm sad to say it but Ham is right. My parents marriage was arranged and there was little affection. I have a wonderful sister from it and two half brothers, that is enough. She was always a difficult woman."

  Marin hesitated and looked embarrassed. "Regan, you should know this too. No one calls me Marin there. My name is Merali, it means barren. It was a double insult, I was born sterile and my mother wanted a girl."

  "She made him sterile!" Ham interjected angrily.

  "I don't understand, what do you mean - made him sterile?" Regan sounded confused.

  Marin dropped his head into his hands so Ham continued.

  "Hereditary lines are determined in the womb on Dahlia. It's an orbital with limited space, so they have population control. Parents can decide which of their children will be fertile, to carry on the family line, and Beria decided when Marin was still in her womb that she didn't want him to have children."

  "But he would have been her eldest, I still don't understand."

  Marin looked up. "Regan, as I said, it was an arranged marriage, my mother didn't want my father's line to be heirs."

  "Why didn't your father . . ."

  "He was away when she was carrying me," he interrupted, "and she made the decision then. When he returned I was already eight months old. He told me later that he was enraged when he found out and he always called me Marin to spite her, and so did the ship . . . Ham."

  "What a bitch! How could she do that so calculatedly?" She shook her head, disbelieving. "You're right Ham, she's a witch!"

  "She had a lover, before my father, Regan, she's always preferred him." Marin explained.

  "Oh don't make excuses for her that man is a pompous fart!" Ham exclaimed, "He's never produced anything of value in his life."

  "But you have a sister and brothers Marin, what happened with them?"

  "Father found out my fate after they had conceived my sister Sindali. He made sure Sin didn't suffer the same treatment and she now has two beautiful children. As for my brothers, they are half brothers, to the pompous fart." Marin seemed drained by all the revelations.

  Bitch! Regan thought again. Such a spiteful action to do that and name him Merali, her first son! She quietly fumed.

  "Guys," she said, suddenly standing, "we need a break." She walked first to Marin and hugged him hard, then without another word she left for her room. She would process this over time she knew. For Marin and Ham it was normal, even if they weren't happy with it, to her it was an abomination.

  Much later, in the quiet of the room Regan lay practicing, accessing the data functions of her device and she found just thinking a question was enough for the answer to be there. She had no idea how the process worked but it was becoming so fluid and effortless that it seemed easy, so easy and automatic in fact that she found it hard to be shocked by new knowledge. It felt natural to know things, instinctively, as if the knowledge had always been there. It also slightly disturbed her that the more she practiced the answers were there before she'd even fully framed the question.

  Like Google, she thought. Just a few letters typed in or words spoken and instantly all the options desired are there, only this is a thousand times faster, faster even than conscious thought? It's time to consult the Oracle.

  [Ham, I'm practicing accessing information.]

  [And?]

  [It occurs to me that if I'm accessing the device I'm really accessing you, am I right?]

  [In a way, yes.]

  [In a way . . . what does that mean? It seems to me that you're so in my thoughts that you're effectively anticipating them, is that right?]

  [Regan, you remember when I explained about the device; I described it as a closed booth with a passenger, a passenger that you could access any time you wanted and that you held the power to open the curtain or to shut it, remember?]

  [Yeah . . . I never shut it. I didn't see any reason to.]

  [Exactly, right from the beginning, you never pulled the curtains. You're a remarkable woman Regan, incredibly open. Most people have things they hide even from themselves, things they're in denial about, you don't seem to be like that.]

  [Help me out here, give me an example.]

  [Well, a person might want to be a singer, but they can't really sing. Because they can't face that truth they deny it, and over time the lie becomes truth to them. You seem so open and unafraid. Your preference is to face truth, not deny it and if it's something you haven't recognized before then when it comes to light you seem to welcome it, like new scientific information.]

  [Well, of course, isn't that normal?]

  [No way, it's very unusual.]

  [Ok, I'm looking for new information now. I agree, right from the beginning I left the curtain open, and it does seem this ability, this access, has become more and more fluid, more automatic. Does that mean we're more connected? Where do I stop and you start?]

  [Well we're talking to each other now aren't we? I'm still me and you're still you.]

  She thought about that for awhile. [You know, I have always talked to myself inside my head, as if one part of me was addressing another, I guess it does feel a bit like that.]

  [Perhaps it is.]

  [Does that mean all your data is there, available to me, I can just think and the answer will be there? That does seem to be the way it's working.]

  [It appears so, no barriers, no curtains; if that's the way you want it.]

  [We're kind of wedded together then aren't we?]

  [Only if you choose it.]

  Regan lay there thinking for a minute. [So does this mean . . . you've been there, through everything, since the beginning?]

  [As I said, you left the curtain open, you chose to and as a consequence I experience what is running live through you.]

  [So you can see too!?]

  [I couldn't at first. It was a surprise actually and came as the connections developed. The images you see are interpreted digitally, I could even replay them . . . but I won't of course! Your eyes are like camera lenses.]

  [Hmm, that could be useful. Sooo, you were there, all the time, during . . .]

  [Yes.]

  [And . . .?]

  [Spectacular!]

  Regan laughed out loud. [It is, isn't it? Oh . . . my . . . god!]

  She swung her legs off the bed and sat up, looking thoughtful. [I did wonder. It felt kind of kinky, like having an audience.]

  [Is that a problem?] Ham asked

  [No,] and she surprised herself with the thought. [I think I like it.]

  *

  Regan was relieved when that night they returned to their own rooms without any discussion as she preferred to sleep alone. The other truth, as Ham would put it, was that great, even truly great sex was not love, not in Regan's mind.

  In the quiet she lay there reflecting on her life. I'm a contradiction in terms, the nerd athlete.

  She remembered being tall and clumsy from seven to thirteen, always the gangly duck and intimidating slower maturing boys because of her height. In her teens, as the boys caught up she was still taller than most but developing as an athlete and on top of that she was smarter. The net result was very few relationships, well, absolutely none, to be truthful she thought ruefully.

  There had been a few guys at university, and she enjoyed the sex, a lot. But then there was training and travel to competitions, crammed study when home, and business. As a consequence serious relationships took a distant second place. There had been none in fact, and she rarely thought about it. Am I happy with that? . . . For now, yes, she thought and felt better for coming to the conclusion. She drifted into dreamless sleep.

  The morning workout was charged with sexual tension, she could feel it. Surprisingly neither made moves toward the other and instead they pushed up the weights and worked to swea
ty exhaustion. An hour later, dripping, they retired to shower and without asking Marin followed Regan to her room. She made no comment and simply stripped her suit dropping it casually on the floor. She turned to Marin and without a word, loosed and peeled his suit, rolling it down over his hips to his feet. He stepped aside and Regan found she was crouched facing him. She reached out and took him in hand, then with a nod of her head tugged him gently in the direction of the bathroom, "Shower!"

  He followed; moving quickly to activate the stream and then began to wash her slowly. She let him, reveling in the experience and gasping as he knelt to lap at her sex, sucking on her hungrily, where did he get this experience? And she immediately gave thanks that Ham appeared to know when not to answer a question.

  Surprising her with his strength he lifted her against the wall. "Please Marin, not now, later." He nodded and lowered her gently to the floor. She slowly washed him thinking, this may be the last time, is it Dahlia tomorrow? As they were drying, a palpable atmosphere of anticipation filled the room.

  Marin pulled Regan into the room and spun her to face the bed. Firmly he put one arm around her waist and with the other bent her forward. She could feel her heart racing as she responded, bracing her arms on the high bunk and parting to give him room. She felt one hand on her back and fingers reaching through to massage her and she could tell he was poised, hearing him slowly stroking behind her, keeping ready. Somehow he seemed to know and just as she felt her climax approaching, he entered tipping her over. Powerfully her orgasm struck and he filled her at the same moment with one smooth movement.

  Later, Marin half lay on the bed his back against the wall, caressing Regan's head as he looked down at her. She curled up, her head on his belly, still coming down and thoroughly sated. He said nothing as she casually stroked him.

  "Marin did you . . ."

  "No." He interrupted her. "I wanted you to enjoy it. It could be our last time." He sounded content.