This is from my second novel in my scifi series. The free on Kindle promotion ended. But, I'll continue to post chapters here for a bit while I'm working on my third one, which I plan to be a collection of shorter stories from Ariana's career. Feedback is always welcome.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRSFYQ1L

Link to previous chapter:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EroticWriting/comments/1avvx5l/kranlian_rendezvous_chapter_10_scifi_alien_f25/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Chapter 11

Ariana was still back in the cargo area talking with the two aliens in their stasis chamber when Kwils came in with two hot cups of coffee and said “If you’re as tired as I am I thought you might want some more coffee.”

Ariana looked up and said “Thank you. Can you sit with us for a bit? It’s quiet out there now. I was just telling L’karno and L’teren about the incident when we first met the Kranlians. I know they probably can’t hear me, but you never know. When I was younger, my father’s sister was in the hospital in a coma. I used to sit with her after school and talk to her about my day. When she finally recovered she told me she remembered many of the things I’d talked about.”

Kwils said “That’s a nice story. Hope you didn’t say anything too embarrassing to her.”

Ariana said “Oh, I definitely did, but she was very sweet about it. After that I talked to her all the time about everything. I still send her messages, and she still gives good advice.”

Kwils squeezed Ariana’s shoulder and said, “I hope I will get to meet her when we finally make it to Earth.”

Ariana said “Yes. I hope so too.” She took a sip of the coffee that Kwils had brought and said “Let’s go back to the bridge.”

They made their way to the bridge and monitored the scans and sensor and it was very quiet until Neto joined them on the bridge with juice for Ariana and Kefta for Kwils. Ariana said “Thank you Pilot.” and Kwils said “Yes, thank you Neto.”

Ariana said “Let’s get ready for our next jump.”

Neto sat down at his chair and said “Yes ma’am.” Kwils went over to join him to watch the procedure and a minute or two later he said “The calculations are all entered. We are ready to jump.”

Ariana sat back and said “Pilot, engage FTL drive and take us out.”

Neto replied “Yes ma’am”, He engaged the engines and just as before the view screen went blank for a few seconds and then normal space appeared. After a minute or so Neto said “Captain, our coordinates are as expected.”

Ariana replied “Excellent Pilot. Lieutenant, what is the status of the engines?”

Kwils replied “Captain, the FTL engine gauges are within the specified parameters. Hull temperature is slightly elevated, but within safety parameters as well.”

Ariana gave her standard post jump orders and said “Excellent as well, Lieutenant. Pilot please review the scans of the immediate area with the Lieutenant and meet me in the kitchen when you are done.”

Ariana went to the kitchen and prepared a piece of pizza and a carbonated drink and sat down to eat while she waited for Kwils and Neto to join her. It was not too long before they came into the kitchen smiling. Ariana looked up and said “Please get something and join me.”

Kwils fixed herself a piece of pizza and a carbonated drink too, while Neto just got a drink. Ariana finished her last bite of pizza and said “What is our status?”

Neto said “There is some minor debris on the scans. We have analyzed and logged it. It is nothing of any consequence.”

Ariana said “That’s good news. We are getting closer to more populated regions of Alliance space. Hopefully, things will be quiet for us now. Do you have any questions for me?”

Kwils said “I am wondering if you could tell us a little about your time working with Admiral Cansina.”

Ariana sipped her drink and said “Sure. She became the Captain of the Firefly after the Shreveport incident. I was badly shaken after that and she was the perfect officer to work with. I had nightmares nearly every night about the explosions. One time she passed by my cabin and heard me sobbing in bed. She came in, got in bed with me and held me until I could start talking about the incident. We did that every day for months until I could get a good night’s sleep. When she got promoted off of the Firefly, I went with Cansina to her next command. I served under her for about 5 years total. She used her influence to get me a position as Captain of a Scout ship like this one. I love this so much, I’ve been doing it ever since. It will be 16 years as Captain soon.”

Kwils said “That’s so wonderful that Admiral Cansina did that with you.”

Ariana said “Yes. I definitely agree. She’s an excellent commander as well. There was one incident where the Terrans had begun to colonize a new system and another race called the Naylorians was there as well. Both sides were claiming the system, and we were assigned to help negotiate since Cansina was already familiar with the Naylorians. By the time we got there, both sides were very frustrated and were ready to start fighting.”

“From her experience with the Naylorians, Cansina knew that they loved logic and strategy. So, she taught them how to play a Terran sport called Cricket. Then she scheduled a tournament with the Terrans and both teams met on an island that was between the two continents where each had settled. Teams played for several days in a row and Cansina and I refereed each game. I had to learn the game along with the Naylors since I’d never played before. It was a great success and over the course of the tournament all of us realized we had much in common and a treaty was signed. Now every year there is a cricket tournament on TerraNaylor, and teams come from planets all over the galaxy to participate.”

Then Ariana picked up her portable console and showed a picture “This is the last tournament that I was able to attend with Cansina. We are all wearing the traditional white Cricket uniforms. She is standing on the right side and I am kneeling in front of her. The Naylorians are the shorter, muscular looking people with orangish colored skin.”

Neto said “I had always wondered how TerraNaylor came to be. The text books barely go into details.”

Ariana said “It’s always important to find common ground. It seems that there usually something people have in common. It’s not always as easy as Cricket or K’teric. You just have to search for it.”

Kwils said “That’s a great story. Everyone looks so happy in that picture.”

Ariana said “We are happy there. Hopefully, we can go there sometime. You will love to try Naylorian style pizza. They do not use dough. Instead it is on a very thick leaf. It’s quite good. The only other thing I’d add about Admiral Cansina is that she’s an amazing person, and I’d do anything for her. Do either of you have any other questions.”

Two “No ma’am’s” followed. Then Neto spoke and said “Captain, you should know that we feel the same way about you. You’re an amazing person, and we’d do anything for you.”

Kwils smiled broadly and nodded her agreement. Ariana took her time and finally said “Thank you so much. It means a great deal to me, coming from you both.”

Ariana then wiped her eyes a bit and said “If I don’t change the subject, you’re going to see me start crying. So, I am wondering if I can see the demo of the probe modifications now.”

Neto said “Yes ma’am. Let’s go back to the cargo hold and then we can use the Holocenter program we made.”

They all went back into the cargo hold to see the modified probe. Neto showed Ariana the modified probe. He said “We were able to fit everything inside the existing chassis. Let’s remove the front panel so that the new filter assembly is visible. Kwils please explain the design.”

Kwils said “Thank you Neto. The idea is that the heat of the probe’s impulse engines activates the filter material which then attracts the dust particles. You will notice that there are two separate filters. They rotate and the dust particles are ejected out the side of the probes skin through the exhaust ports. The filter mechanism has a small motor that is hooked into the probe’s power supply to rotate the filters. By having two filters that rotate they don’t get filled with dust. Does it make sense?”

Ariana said “Yes, that’s a very clever design.”

Neto started talking again “This first simulation uses the standard probe entering the inner Kranlian system based on the specifications of the density of the particle that Kranlian Command had provided.” Neto nodded to Kwils and she started the simulation and just as had been shown by the Kranlians, the probe lost power and the gravitational pull of the third planet took over and the probe crashed into the planet and exploded.

Ariana said “That’s exactly what Commander Kirn showed me during my interrogation.”

Kwils said “Now watch the simulation with the filter assembly installed.” In this simulation the probe proceeded to the third planet and entered high orbit, exactly as designed.

Ariana said “That is amazing. How often does the filter assembly need to rotate to keep the filters clean?”

Neto said “We calculated that the filters rotated about once every 40 seconds.”

Ariana sat quietly for a little bit as Neto and Kwils waited nervously. Finally Ariana broke the tension and said “This is very impressive work. This issue with losing the probes has gone on for as long as I can remember. The cost of the lost probes is significantly higher than the cost of the supplies that we are sending to Kranlia. Scout Command will be very grateful to Kranlia for proposing this change for us. Congratulations Pilot and Congratulations Lieutenant. Please write up the details of the design change and the results of the simulations and we will send it off to Scout Command.”

Neto said “Yes ma’am. We will work on it right away.”

Ariana said “If there isn’t anything else, I’ll go to my room and get some rest.”

She was about to leave when Kwils nudged Neto. Ariana stopped and asked “Pilot, is there something else?”

Neto said “Yes ma’am. Kwils told me what a good dancer you are, and we were hoping you would join us for some dancing in the Holocenter when my shift is over.”

Ariana said “I would like that very much. I enjoy dancing, but I’m nowhere near as good as you and your sister. I hope my good dress still fits after Kwils has gotten me to eat so much pizza lately.”They all laughed and Ariana said “I am looking forward to joining you both in the dance floor soon.” Then she left Kwils and Neto in the cargo bay.

Ariana went to her room, quickly got undressed and took a very hot shower. She came out and found the one nice dress she had in the dresser and tried it on. It still fit perfectly even though she hadn’t worn it in years. Unfortunately it was too long and conservative for dancing. It was a long black dress she wore to formal functions when her Scout dress uniform would not be appropriate. So she took it off and put it away. She pulled on her pajama shorts and looked through the selection on the computer until she found a little red dress that she liked and some matching shoes. She stood up and let the system scan her to get her measurements. She submitted the order, got in bed and quickly fell asleep.

Ariana woke up a few hours later to the sounds of water splashing in the shower. Kwils came out a few minutes later drying herself off. Ariana yawned and said “Hi Kwils. How was the rest of your shift?”

Kwils said “Hi Captain. I’m so sorry to have woken you up. I’m going to get in bed now if you want to come over.”

Ariana said “I’d like that” and got up, slid off her pajama shorts and joined Kwils in her bed.

Kwils put her arm around Ariana and said “I was back in the cargo bay earlier checking on L’karno and L’teren. I saw that there was a red dress back there with some shoes. I brought them in for you. You will look so pretty. I can’t wait to see you in that dress.”

Ariana said “Thanks for getting it for me. I am looking forward to wearing it to dance with you and Neto. How were our guests?”

Kwils said “All the lights on the stasis chamber are still the same. I wish that I knew what they all mean. There’s one flashing red one for each person that’s obviously measuring their heart rates, but I’m not sure about the rest. Otherwise we just monitored the scans and there really isn’t anything around. I think we found a very quiet area of space for regenerating the FTL drives.” Kwils pulled Ariana in closer and said “You feel see nice and warm. Should I let you get back to sleep?”

Ariana said “Maybe in a little bit. Hold me and tell me a story about Kranlia. Maybe there’s a story about K’theris you can tell me?”

Kwils said “All right, but you will have to tell me a story too. K’theris is a little monster that can sneak in at night if you leave your door or window open. He is green and scaly. You can tell when he’s coming to get you because it will suddenly get cold and he will take you back to his ice kingdom and make you work for him. He was much more likely to get children that didn’t bathe. I was certain he was real until I was at least 10 of your years old. Kory made sure to tease me about him. But after our mom died, Kory was very nice and told me K’theris was just a story and not real. I didn’t believe her at first but she was very insistent.”

Ariana said “That’s a good story. Thanks for sharing. Kory sounds wonderful. You two must make a great team.”

Kwils said “Thank you. I’d like to think so. Kory is so good at everything, but she is also patient with me.”

Ariana said “I can’t imagine Kory is a better officer than you are. You are doing amazing work with us and are making our mission much more successful than I could have imagined.”

Then Kwils kissed Ariana on the back of her neck and said “Your turn. Tell me a story.”

Ariana said “Let me think.” Ariana paused while she was thinking and Kwils kept kissing her neck. Ariana finally said “That feels nice. Can you keep doing that while I tell my little story?”

Kwils said “Of course. I love kissing your neck.”

Ariana said “Back on earth, when I was little my grandmother would sometimes take care of my little brother and me. When we were being naughty she told us about a monster that would come take us away if we weren’t good. It seems like he was similar to K’theris. She called him the Bogeyman. He would come get us if we didn’t do our school work, and bathe and brush our teeth.”

Kwils stopped her kissing and said “That’s the same thing they told us about K’theris.”

Ariana said “I thought so too. Don’t you think that’s interesting. Our cultures have a lot in common.”

Kwils said “Yes. I think so too. Should we try and get a little sleep before we meet Neto?”

Ariana said “Yes, we probably should.” Ariana then turned over and kissed Kwils and said “Would it be all right if I held you while we sleep this time?”

Kwils kissed Ariana back and said “Yes, I’d like that very much.” Kwils turned over and Ariana put her arm over Kwils and pulled her close. Ariana moved Kwils’ long blue hair out of the way and kissed her neck a few times and said “Can you sleep like this?”

Kwils softly said “Yes. I feel very safe like this.”

Ariana kissed Kwils’ neck one last time and said “I will reset the alarm for you after I get up.” Kwils didn’t say anything but her soft breathing made Ariana smile as she’d already fallen asleep.

They both fell asleep and were still in the same position when the alarm began softly beeping a few hours later. Ariana turned off the alarm, got up and let Kwils stay asleep for a while. Ariana got cleaned up and put on her uniform and went to the kitchen for a light meal and some coffee. Then she fixed another cup for herself and one for Neto and went to the bridge. She entered and said “Good evening Pilot. How was your shift?”

Neto turned and said “Hello Captain. It was quiet. Can you double check the scans for me? I didn’t see anything out there and I was thinking maybe we can move the Fortuna forward and scan ahead some more until the next jump.”

Ariana nodded her agreement and said “That's a good idea. Please plot a course and get us moving. I’ll review the scans and if we need to go back we can always do that.”

Neto plotted the course forward and engaged the engines and then turned back to Ariana. She said “I saw that you wrote up the report about the probe modifications. It looks very good. I added a comment about the potential cost savings from lost probes, so please add a few sentences about that. Then send it off to Scout Command.”

Neto said “Yes ma’am. Don’t you want to send the report?”

Ariana said “Why should I send it? I didn’t do anything. You and the Lieutenant did all the work and it was your idea. Scout Command needs to know that.”

Neto said “Thank you Captain. We will do that.”

Neto then asked “Captain, will we still meet to dance?”

Ariana said “Yes, I left the Lieutenant sleeping and set the alarm. Maybe we can meet at the Holocenter in two hours for a few dances together?”

Neto said “That sounds perfect. I will be able to eat some dinner and get some rest before I meet you both. Do you have a favorite dance you want to try?”

Ariana thought for a second and said “I haven’t done much dancing in a few years. I was thinking that we could show Kwils something that you and she could try together later. What do you think?”

Neto said “That’s a very good idea. Can we try a tango together?”

Ariana smiled and replied “Yes, that would be fun, if we can keep it a bit slow. I will try to follow your turns. It will be easy for you to lift me up. Will you be able to do that with her?”

Neto said “Yes. I am sure I can lift her up and spin around her. Thank you so much for helping us.”

Ariana said “I am happy to do it. You should probably go get some rest. You’ve got some work to do soon.”

Neto said “Yes ma’am. See you soon.”

Ariana transferred the navigation controls to her chair and reviewed the scans from the previous location. After about an hour she slowed the engines and gradually stopped the Fortuna and started a new sequence of scans. After viewing the scans at this location for some time, Ariana still hadn’t found anything of note, so she secured the bridge and went back to the kitchen. Ariana sat down with some herbal tea and a piece of apple pie.

She’d barely started eating when Kwils came in and said “Hi Captain. Thanks for setting the alarm for me. How much time do you think we have to get ready?”

Ariana said “We have at least 30 minutes if you wanted to have a quick meal. Then we can go get ready.” Kwils fixed herself a glass of Karetta and a bowl of soup.

Kwils sat down with Ariana and said “I got a message from Dr Kearla. She thinks I am eating too much pizza and sent me a list of other Terran foods that might be healthier. I can still have pizza a few times each week though.”

Ariana smiled and said “If you send me her list, maybe we can find some things that you might like almost as much.”

Kwils said “Thank you. I would really appreciate that.”

They finished eating and went back to their room. Ariana took off her uniform and said “I’m going to get cleaned up a bit and I’ll be right out and we can get dressed.” Ariana came out of the shower drying herself off with a towel and saw that Kwils had taken off her uniform and was sitting on her bed.

Kwils came over to Ariana and took the towel and said “Let me dry you off.”

Ariana said “Thank you. My back is still pretty wet.” Ariana turned around and Kwils started on her shoulders and moved down her body. As Kwils softly rubbed the towel over Ariana’s small round butt cheeks Ariana bent over a little and Kwils said “Your butt is so sexy. I wish that mine was nice and round like yours.”

Ariana said “Thank you. It’s nice to hear that from someone as beautiful as you are. I wish that my butt was as firm as it used to be.”

Kwils dropped the towel and squeezed both of Ariana’s butt cheeks and said “I think your butt is perfect!”

Ariana stood up and turned around and kissed Kwils and said “I wish it were. If you keep squeezing my butt like that we won’t make our date with Neto.”

Kwils laughed at Ariana’s joke and said “All right, let’s get dressed.”

Kwils went over to the dresser and pulled out her dress and panties. Ariana followed and pulled out a pair of red panties to go with the red dress that Kwils had put on top of the dresser.

Kwils slipped on her little black panties and asked Ariana “Can you help me on with my dress again. I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.”

Ariana said “Of course.” Ariana picked up the dress off of the bed and Kwils carefully stepped through the opening. The Ariana went around and stood on the bed behind Kwils pulled the dress up and helped her put her arms through each of the straps and then pulled it around her back and zipped it up. Ariana said “Turn around so I can see.” Kwils turned around and Ariana looked and said “You look amazing.” Then Ariana asked “Have you told Neto that you’re in love with him yet?”

Kwils gasped and said “No, I haven’t. How did you know?”

Ariana smiled and said “It’s very obvious from the way you look at each other all the time.”

Kwils said “I’m afraid to tell him. What if he doesn’t feel the same?”

Ariana got down from the bed and took Kwils hand and said “I’m sure he does, but even if he didn’t, at least then you’d know. I sure hope you will tell him tonight.”

Kwils said “I will try. It’s hard to get the words out though.”

Ariana said “I know. I had the same problem once. But I guarantee you it’s much better to find out than to have regrets the rest of your life.”

Kwils pulled the still naked Ariana close in a tight hug and said “Thank you for the advice. I am so lucky to have you as my captain and my friend.”

Ariana said “You're very welcome. I feel just as lucky to have you on my team and as my friend.”

Kwils released Ariana from her hug so Ariana could get dressed. Ariana first slipped into her little red panties. The back was little more than a thin strip of cloth that went between her butt cheeks. Kwils said “Those are so sexy. It barely covers anything.”

Ariana said “Thank you. I’m glad you like them. I think they will look good under my new dress.” Ariana then stepped into her dress and pulled it up her body. Then she said “I made this dress a little loose so it’s not a problem to dance. What do you think?”

Kwils said “You look beautiful. It’s so sexy that there’s nothing covering your back. Neto will pass out when he sees us together.”

They both laughed and Kwils said “Let’s put out shoes on and go to the Holocenter.” Kwils put on her flat black shoes and Ariana put on her red heels. Then they went to the Holocenter grabbed their remote sensors.

When Ariana and Kwils went in, the Dance Club program was already started and Neto was standing near the dance floor. He was wearing his nice black suit, walked over to them and said “Hello Kwils. Hello Ariana. You both look very beautiful. Should we sit for a few minutes before we start dancing?”

He took Kwils in his right hand and Ariana in his left and they went to a small round table near the dance floor. After they sat down Kwils said “Can we have some of the sparkling wine you served us back in Kranlia when we were celebrating?”

Ariana said “Yes. That's a good idea.”

Neto stood back up and said “Wait here. I will be right back with our drinks.”

He went over to the bar and brought back three glasses of the sparkling wine. As they sipped the wine, Ariana said “Why don’t you two dance first.” Ariana watched and finished her wine while Neto led Kwils around the dance floor first in a slow waltz and then a slightly faster fox trot.

They came smiling back to the table. Ariana said “Can you dance one more time together? I know an old song that’s still popular with the Scouts. I think you’d like it too Kwils.” Ariana looked at Neto and he smiled, so she got up and went over to the orchestra leader and made a request. He smiled and got the microphone so he could sing with the music. The music started and Neto took Kwils hand and they started doing the foxtrot again. The orchestra leader started singing “Take me to the moon …” and Kwils smiled as Neto picked her up and they spun around and when the orchestra leader sang “In other words, I love you …”

Kwils stopped dancing and looked Neto in the eyes and kissed him. Then she said to him “I love you Neto.”

Neto looked back at Kwils and they kissed again. Then he said “I love you too. I’m sorry that I didn’t say it before.”

They looked over at Ariana and she raised her glass to them. Neto took Kwils in his arms again and they finished the dance and as the music stopped he leaned her down into a dip and kissed her once more.

They came back to the table once more and sat. Kwils said “That was so wonderful Ariana. Thank you for requesting that song for us. I knew I loved Neto even before he saved my life back in Kranlia.”

Neto squeezed Kwils’ hand and said “I felt that same way. Would you like to dance with me now, Ariana?”

Ariana stood and said “I would love to dance with you. What should we try?”

Neto said “Let’s try a tango. Is that all right?”

Ariana didn’t say anything but just held her hand out. Neto led Ariana to the dance floor and requested some tango music. Neto pulled Ariana close to him and had his left hand against the bare skin of her back. He led her around the dance floor in a slow walk at first, and then they did several turns. As the pace of the music picked up a little towards the end of the song Neto picked up Ariana by the waist and spun her around before setting her down and doing a figure eight as the music ended.

Ariana hugged him and said “That was so nice. Thanks for going a little slow for me.”

Neto and Ariana walked back to the table and Kwils stood up and said “That was so beautiful. Can you teach me to do that?”

Neto said “Yes, I’d love to work on the tango with you. Should I get us more wine first?”

Ariana and Kwils both held up their empty glasses and said “Yes please.”

While Neto went over to the bar for more wine, Kwils asked Ariana “Would you like to dance once with me?”

Ariana said “I would love to dance with you again.”

They walked onto the dance floor and Kwils asked the orchestra leader to play Moon Light for them. Ariana and Kwils danced a slow waltz to the romantic piano piece. When it was over Kwils leaned down and whispered in Ariana’s ear “Thank you so much for pushing us together. You’re the best friend I ever had.”

Then Kwils kissed Ariana on the lips. As Kwils started to pull away Ariana put her hand to Kwils head and whispered back “I’m so happy for you. I haven’t had a close friend like you in a very long time.” They walked back to the table to meet Neto who was waiting with the three glasses of sparkling wine.

They drank the wine and Kwils said “Show me how to tango please.” Neto took her hand and made a request to the orchestra leader and the music started playing. Neto led Kwils around the dance floor in a slow walk as the held each ocher tightly. Not too long after that, the yellow alert lamp started glowing.

Ariana said “Don’t worry. I’ll check it out and let you know if I need you. Please keep dancing and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Ariana left the Holocenter and went to the bridge. She looked at the scans and saw there was a small asteroid coming towards them from the starboard side. She checked the trajectory and engaged the engines to move the Fortuna forward out of the asteroid’s path. She accessed the communicator and said “There’s nothing to be concerned about. I am just moving the ship away from an asteroid’s path that probably would not come to close. I may be a little while. See you both soon.”

Neto and Kwils both said “Yes ma’am.”

Ariana finished moving the ship after about 30 minutes and reviewed the scans for the new location. She was finally satisfied and secured the bridge and went back to the Holocenter. She went in and the simulation was still running but Neto and Kwils were gone. The orchestra leader came over and said “The young couple left a little while ago and asked me to give you a message that they’ve gone to their room, and they hope you will join them.”

---> To be continued