Cosmic Harem Read online

  We came to the door at the end of the hallways, and it slid open with a hydraulic hiss. Jeeves led the way into a cool, featureless room that I dimly remembered waking up in. My preservation chamber was in the center, the compartment empty, only now there was a laptop computer terminal just like the ones I’d trained on plugged into the circuitry of the steel and plastic sarcophagus. I walked over to the machine and logged in with my standard credentials, impressed that Jeeves had been able to accommodate me so well. The technology was probably ancient by now, and should have rotted away and failed long ago, even though the preservation chamber itself had been built to endure the ages. The machine brightened up to life with the words WELCOME, CAPTAIN JAMES T. MITCHELL flashing across the OS before showing me a dizzying array of menu options that perfectly mimicked the custom OS we had designed for these computers ages ago.

  “Where did you get a laptop in this great of a condition?” I asked, swiping through a series of menus as I searched for the preparation logs.

  “We can easily reproduce technology from any period in your timeline, from your records, at your request,” Jeeves informed me. “It is a trivial matters for the beings which revived you. It is unfortunate for you that we cannot so easily reproduce organic biomatter required to create your human bodies and resolve the embarrassing mix-up of your gender predicament.”

  Yeah, that would be nice. Still that’s impressive that they can just recreate anything else from the records of our software. These aliens are really advanced. I wonder what else they’re capable of?

  As I scanned through the computer’s files on the grand mission of the U.S. Human Preservation service, I was pleased to see that the full backup of the project preparation notes were intact along with the further history of the USHPS initiative that had happened after I was frozen, just as Jeeves had said. I noticed records for Minny and Lindsay along with several dozen more female names, and a handful of male names too—backups and extra breeding pool material, no doubt. Ensign William Stryker was one of the male names that caught my eye, and I filed the information away for later.

  I pushed deeper, searching for the specific logs that detailed the preparation of our chambers, but was surprised to find that the files had been sealed. I attempted to open them, and was met with a brash ACCESS DENIED message.

  “That’s strange,” I muttered to myself as I frowned at the blinking red denial. “I should be able to access everything. There would be no reason for restricted content once we’re trying to resurrect the human species.”

  Cracking the encryption on a sealed government file would take forever, even if I had access to the proper decryption tools, which I didn’t. I sighed in frustration. I decided to try a different tact, and opened a utility that would allow me to examine the system-level actions taken by users to see who had encrypted the file. When I viewed the signature and date-stamp on the sealed file, my mouth dropped open. It bore Lana’s login information… and the date was only three days before we had gone into a cryo-sleep. A chill ran down my back, and the fine, blonde hairs on the back of my neck lifted up.

  Why had our chief archivist been messing with chamber preparation at all? And why were the records sealed? I had to know, but I also knew that there was no way James was going to give me Lana May King’s credentials to crack into the computer and find out. It was incredibly frustrating to be so close to getting some real answers to the puzzle, and still so far away.

  Then I paused and held my hands up in front of my face. Did I actually need Lana’s credentials?

  “Jeeves,” I said. “Is there a fingerprint scanner login option on this device?”

  “Of course, mistress. Right beside you, on the edge of the laptop.”

  I quickly logged out of my real account and held the tip of my index finger on the place that he’d indicated. The system beeped, the OS login screen faded away, and WELCOME, CAPTAIN LANA MAY KING flashed across the screen. I grinned and almost clapped my hands with delight. I’m cleverer than I look, just like Lana always was too. Now to see what she was trying to hide…

  Chapter 3

  As I tapped into the sealed capsule preparation files accessible on to Lana May and began to scan over them, my jaw dropped. Chills ran over me, and my pulse quickened.

  Lana had been the last one to interact with our capsules before we went under, and not only that—if these records were correct, it appeared that she had deliberately sabotaged the subsystems critical to maintaining the long-term viability of our life support systems.

  I was dumbfounded. If this was true, Lana had caused our organic bodies to die and decay, apparently intentionally. It cast her “harmless” prank in a whole different light. If Lana had had reason to believe that technology would eventually advance to the point where we could be resurrected from our biological records and mind scans, and all signs had pointed to that, then the “accident” that had placed us into the wrong bodies wasn’t anything of the kind. She had engineered all of this from the beginning, knowing that she would wake up in my body, and I in hers. Knowing that I would be the one to have to get pregnant and pop out baby after baby for the good of the human race, while she ruled the harem that had been intended for me.

  I closed the laptop and sat back on my haunches. All the pieces fit, and I had all the proof I needed to make the case. The only trouble was, who would I prove it to? There was no longer any governing body to rule over us, no Earth central HQ to complain to. Jeeves had already made it clear that as the sole male aboard, James had the final say, and I didn’t think I could count on Minny and Lindsay to side with me here. If Lana had been willing to take such drastic and illegal measure to secure her place as “James,” she’d have no issue lying about what had happened to newcomers and doing whatever it took to cover it up.

  I wanted to confront her and demand an explanation, but she had all the power. What could I do? I was a weak, pregnant woman… a sex toy that was regarded by our benefactors as childlike breeding stock.

  As much as it appalled me, I realized what I needed was a man’s help to get anything accomplished. If I could get someone on my side, I could at least have some additional support to sort out what to do about Lana’s betrayal.

  “Jeeves,” I said. “If I wanted to awaken another USHPS volunteer, how would I do so?”

  Jeeves bobbled and blinked uncertainly. “It would be unusual per the release schedule laid out by your ancestors, but of course we are not beholden to their whims. My sensors indicate that there would be no appreciable issue adding another human to the current pool of living organisms on board, so you are free to awaken whomever you wish. As one of the few living humans in the galaxy, your preferences take precedence over those who are no longer living.”

  I smiled. At least I had some pull around here. I thought back to the list of names I’d reviewed earlier, and remembered that one of them had been relatively young and junior—that was perfect, since I needed someone impressionable if this was going to work.

  “I’d like to awaken William Stryker, please.”

  “As you wish, mistress. Awakening Ensign William Stryker now.”

  A long moment passed while I waited for something to happen, and then just as I was about to ask Jeeves whether he’d already done it, a panel in the wall slid open to reveal a dazed-looking, handsome young man who appeared to be physically about 21 years old. He wore the same silver shorts that James did, and he had curly, short-cropped reddish-brown hair. I couldn’t believe how cut and muscular he was, and as he stood there rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with a dreamy, blinking gaze, I felt a twinge of need at my crotch that I was starting to become very familiar with.

  Uh-oh. That’s not good. Stay on task, lady.

  “Ensign Stryker,” I barked. He snapped to attention, saluting me by reflex, and I grinned to see that the long cryo-sleep hadn’t dulled his trained mannerisms at all. “I am Captain Lana May King of the USHPS. Are you familiar with my mission and background?”

  His eyes
widened and he blinked at me. “You’re cuter than I expected,” he blurted out, and then turned bright red and straightened, evidently embarrassed by his lack of decorum. “I-I’m sorry, Ma’am. Still a little woozy from cryo sleep is all.”

  I blushed too. It was strange for someone to call me cute and think of me like that, and this was the first man I had encountered who wasn’t Lana swapped into my own body. I felt moisture begin to grow between my legs at the unexpected compliment, but I ignored my body’s biological impulses to mate with such a young, strong, attractive man, and glared at him sternly. Let him think the flush in my cheeks is from anger instead of lust…

  “Listen carefully, Ensign,” I said, clasping my hands behind my back and squaring my shoulders. “What I’m about to tell you will seem strange, but as your superior officer, I require an open mind and your trust in this matter.”

  “Of course, Ma’am.” He nodded dutifully.

  I began to fill him in on everything that had happened since I had been awoken by Jeeves, and as I spoke, he seemed more and more in awe of the entire situation. By the time I finished, he had taken a seat on the ground beside me and scrolling through the same computer records that I had, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. I tried to ignore the effect that the heat of his body was having on the yearning need in my loins.

  “I know it seems outlandish,” I finished. “But this is the situation in which we find ourselves. It’s reckless, dangerous and illegal at best, and a downright coup at worst. Do you understand?”

  He slowly nodded his assent, his eyes still fixed on the computer screen. “It is outlandish,” he murmured. “Like some kind of story out of the movies. Jeez, Ma’am… er, sir. Ma’am? I’m sorry.”

  “Ma’am will do for now if it’s easier for you. Does this mean I can count on your assistance in bringing the traitor to justice?”

  He straightened where sat, letting his cool blue eyes meet my own, and his jaw stiffened as he gave a tight salute. “Yes, ma’am, of course. I’ll do everything in my power to assist and protect you.”

  Now my panties—if I had been wearing panties—were soaking. But since I wasn’t, I could feel my own moisture leaking onto my thighs. There was something biologically breathtaking as a woman about a strapping young man swearing to protect you.

  I stifled a gasp and bit my lip, unable to keep my eyes off his well-defined abs and thick, rounded biceps, and as he regarded me, something changed in his demeanor. When previously he’d viewed me as his superior officer, now his eyes lingered on my tits and hips with the hunger of any man looking at any beautiful woman. Our eyes met again, and my lips parted involuntarily. His hand slid closer to mine, and my fingers trembled, longing for his touch. The aliens hadn’t recreated his body with maximal sexual impulses as they had mine, but I knew just how powerful the natural impulses of a young, virile man were without outside assistance. My feminine body was giving off all the right signals, and he was reading them loud and clear.

  His pupils dilated as the air crackled between us, both of us holding in a breath. The realization dawned in us at the same time that there was no law we need respect except the law of attraction pulling us inexorably together.

  He seized me and kissed me on the mouth, tangling his strong fingers through my curling golden mane. At first I reacted with shock, stiffening, but as soon as I tasted him my body took over, and I relaxed into his grip. He lowered me down onto the floor, and his manly scent, both unfamiliar and exciting, washed over me and drove me wild, stiffening my nipples and sending shivers running through me yet again.

  “Is this what you want?” he growled in a deep, throaty voice with more than a note of demand to it. I mewled my assent, giving him a half-lidded, dreamy gaze with my pouty lips parted in a way that had always driven me crazy as a man. It had the desired effect on Ensign Stryker as well. He groaned as his cock swelled beneath his silver shorts, and he slipped a hand beneath my dress and thrust two fingers into my hot, yearning wetness.

  My head rolled back, and I purred with delight as the young man finger-fucked me on the cool floor of the ship interior, cradling my delicate shoulders with his other arm and continuing to kiss me on my lips, face, and neck with the frenzied need of a convict on a conjugal visit. He laid me all the way down and straddled my bare legs, roughly pulling my dress down over my tits and pushing the hem up to expose my breasts and sex. My nipples were razor sharp, standing up from breasts that had already begun to swell from the pregnancy, and he smiled and began to squeeze and paw at them with barely-constrained eagerness as his deft fingers increased in speed.

  Soon I was aching and moaning for more of him. I grabbed his shoulders, gasping short, frenzied breaths as I held his cool gaze.

  “I need you cock, Ensign.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  He dropped his shorts and released the full impressive girth of it. It sprang out like a wild beast freed from a cage, thick and huge and erect. I imagined it piercing me, penetrating my body and filling me up, and a rush of powerful need dropped my knees further apart.

  “Ahh please, yes, give it to me now,” I cried.

  He lowered himself onto me, covering my body with his warm, reassuring weight, and slipped his glorious cock inside of me in a blisteringly hot mixture of pleasure and pain. He was bigger than James, and it stretched my poor little pussy to its limit. I clamped my thighs around his cock and bucked, savoring the delightful feeling of riding a ramrod straight penis of a perfect specimen of manhood, until all the pain had melted away and there was just the rhythmic, satisfying throbbing of the cock that pounded into me again and again, bringing me closer to the heights of orgasmic delight with each deliriously wonderful thrust.

  When I could take it no more, my head flew back and I cried out, feeling the orgasmic rush that had been growing between my legs burst and wash over me in a flood of ecstasy, sweeping me away in a bucking, screaming torrent of delight that rattled me through and through, turning my brain and bones to jell-o. William came hard as soon as I started writhing against him, slamming myself down again and again against his groin, each wet thump sending both of us into further heights of passion.

  Ensign Stryker finally dropped his head against my shoulder and fell over me like a hot, thick, blanket, holding me gently on the ship’s floor as we both reeled in the amazing aftermath of our lovemaking.

  Chapter 4

  I laid happily on the cool floor, basking in the post-coital bliss I was so coming to enjoy, as Ensign Stryker tapped away at the computer, researching god knows what. I drew my hand down his back with a light, airy touch, just enough to feel the heat of his skin, and purred contentedly.

  “That was excellent work, Ensign.”

  He grinned over his shoulder at me. “Thank you ma’am. You’ve said that several times, but I appreciate it. I do try my best.”

  I rolled onto my knees and wrapped my hands under his arms, nibbling at his earlobe and teasing him while he played with the laptop. “You may need to do ‘your best’ more often for me—a girl could get used to that.”

  He blushed, and then I blushed too. What am I doing? I’m Captain Mitchell, not some sex-starved fuck kitten! I frowned at myself and disentangled my arms from William. Perhaps I was growing too comfortable in this female body, and enjoying the pleasure of my soft flesh a little too much. If I didn’t watch myself, I’d convince myself that none of this was that big of a deal, and that I should just accept my fate and get on with it.

  Would it be so bad, really? a little part of me whispered. Relaxing and playing with the men in an idyllic garden? Carrying children? Having all your needs met?

  But it was the principle of the thing that stuck so gallingly in my throat. Still, I wasn’t even sure what I could begin to do about the whole dilemma once I had confronted James and gotten him to admit what he had done. Admission and apology were a start, but how could he atone? The damage was done, and we were stuck in the bodies that had been created for us. I shook my head to clear my
thoughts. Thinking in circles like this wasn’t like me.

  I needed to focus. What did I really want?

  “Captain King?” William asked. “I found something that might interest you.”

  “Yes? What is it?”

  “Look here.” He pointed at a series of sketches and diagrams, accompanies by mathematical formulas. It was dated nearly 30 years after I had gone into cryo-sleep, and it was a little beyond my understanding.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to explain it to me, Ensign. Mathematics continued to develop after I was preserved, and this is out of my expertise.”

  “Oh, of course. It’s just that, when you told me that the aliens had no way to resolve the mistake with your swapped bodies, it seemed weird to me. When I went under, they were already working on methods to exchange the memories of two individuals—to essentially swap the mind of one being for another. Now, I see here in the records that they solved the problem a few years later. It remained largely experimental, but there’s a technological record of how it could be done. And since you said that the aliens can mimic any of our technology…”