Jupiter

Saul was not sure about the difference, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

* * * * *

ONE MONTH LATER

They sat around the table in the mission control chamber of the Leda. There were monitors all around showing the status of every one of the Leda's systems, as well as a bubble port through which they could look out into space. They had just finished going over the status checks on all aspects of the spaceship. Adi cleared his throat as he always did when he was nervous.

"We've made good progress. We're slightly ahead of schedule, thanks to Hardwood deviating from our planned course and picking up some boost from the ionic activity out of the solar winds. Good flying." Adi paused. "But of course, there was a downside, damage to our communications array. Status, Margot?"

"The ionic activity fried the power packs on both the main and the auxiliary arrays," she replied. "We've lost all communications and detection. All frequencies, both receiving and sending, as well as radar, infrared, everything. We're flying blind now. We need to get it back up ASAP."

"That will take a spacewalk," said Adi.

"I'll do it," Margot said.

"I'd like to alter course," said Kenner. "To be on the safe side. There's liable to be ice debris in the wake of the solar storm. That would make a spacewalk hazardous."

"Ice debris related to solar flare activity?" asked Adi. "I've never heard of that. What's your source?"

"Pilots' chatter," said Kenner. "I've heard it from several buddies."

"Well, I prefer to trust the science, not unsubstantiated pilot gossip," said Adi. "And there is no science to support these fears of yours. As Margot said, we're flying blind. We need to get our communications and sensing systems up and running ASAP. Then we can look for ice debris. If there are any."

"I'll go with her," said Kenner. "Just in case."

"I don't need you," said Margot. "I've changed the powerpack several times. Always alone."

"Two power packs. One each for the main and auxiliary arrays."

"Everything is weightless in space," retorted Margot. "I don't need your brute strength."

"Humor me," said Kenner. "I'm getting cabin fever cooped up inside. A spacewalk will do me good."

"Suit yourself."

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later, Margot and Kenner were in the airlock in their soft suits, clicking on their helmets, and testing their suit systems.

"Looks good," she said. "Ready for depressurization."

Kenner nodded, and Adi pulled the lever to begin venting into the holding tanks. As the air pressure in the chamber began to drop, weightlessness set in. Both Margot and Kenner floated toward the center of the airlock. The two heavy powerpacks were strapped together and also floated free with the securing leash waving lazily. Margot grasped the leash and hooked it onto a D-ring on her soft suit. She gave Kenner the thumbs up.

"Ready to deploy," he said.

Adi opened the exterior hatch of the airlock. They propelled themselves to the hatch weightlessly. At the hatch, they hitched their suit tethers to the exterior rail. Despite her earlier protestations, Margot was pleased that Kenner was there to guide the ungainly powerpack bundle through the hatch. Once outside, it was much easier, as it only took minor tugs to move them through the weightlessness of space.

Margot led the way along the Leda's main fuselage toward the long, extended arm that housed the main communications and sensing array. It was over four hundred meters long and seemed to stretch out into the dark infinity of space. The main array was about halfway out on the arm, and the auxiliary was at the very tip.

Once Margot reached the junction of the arm with the main fuselage, she moved slower and more cautiously, carefully re-attaching her suit tether at each discontinuity in the metal rail. Kenner followed her closely.

Her rounded derriere and narrow waist in the tight soft suit held Kenner's attention. He felt the stirrings of desire and no matter how hard he tried, he could not squelch the stirrings in his organ. He moved closer to her, just a meter behind. She was focused on her goal and paid no attention to him.

But then his fighter pilot's sixth sense flared and he looked away into the distance. He saw the objects, shining white in the light of the distant sun, approaching them soundlessly at a high rate of speed. Ice! They were moving directly toward them. They were coming fast and rapidly grew in size. There was no time to do anything, no chance of evasive action. They just had to hold tight and hope.

"Ice!" Kenner said, his tone sharp and urgent. "Brace, Bonnebaise! Brace!"

Her head swung around to see what he was referring to and he saw her green eyes grow wide with shock. She grabbed the railing with both hands and braced her body against the steel arm. Kenner his arms around her, his hands on the railing just outside of hers. He squeezed her tight between his body and the steel arm.

They waited. It seemed like hours but in reality, it was just over a minute before the ice chunks began striking the Leda. There was no sound in space, and Margot closed her eyes. But Kenner was watching, his combat experience helping him assess the damage. Several chunks struck the main fuselage with glancing blows. They tore the exterior but did not puncture the hull. Then a larger ice chunk struck the arm they were on, causing it to shake and wobble. Margot felt one of her hands get jolted free of the railing, but Kenner's hands were secure and he held her in place. He saw shards of metal spray out from the steel arm into space. And then the shower of ice chunks was gone, disappearing into the darkness.

"Report! Report!"

They heard Adi's voice in their helmets, high-pitched with worry.

"We're fine," said Kenner, looking out along the steel arm. "But the arm's structurally damaged. And both arrays have been hit by ice. We won't know their status till we get out there."

"I don't think I'm fine," whispered Margot. "I'm hit. My suit's punctured."

"How rapidly are you losing air?" Kenner asked, cool, unruffled.

"Return to the airlock, Margot! Return to the airlock at once!" Adi's voice came through, worry giving way to panic.

She looked out along the arm and saw what Kenner meant. The arm was swaying as the Leda hurtled forward. Even without air resistance, there was a clear danger that it would become detached from the ship. If that happened, the arm would be lost, irretrievable. And they would be flying blind through the vastness of space, almost certainly doomed.

"We need to put in a strut to the buttress the arm, Adi," she said quietly. "If we lose the arrays, we're all as good as dead."

"I'll take that chance! Just come back here!" Adi shouted. "We need to regroup, rethink, analyze the situation."

"There's no time for that," said Kenner. "By the time we analyze the situation, we'll lose the arrays. We have to act now." He cut the general channel and opened a private channel to Margot. "Where's the puncture?"

Their helmets were touching each other, and he could see color suffuse her pink cheeks.

"The crotch of my suit," she said. "I think the particle that struck me is still lodged in there, it's cold. I've lost about a quarter of my air, and some pressure in the suit. But I have a hand on it and I've slowed the air loss to a trickle."

"You can't maneuver and work, and also stanch the puncture in your suit," said Kenner. "You need one hand on the railing, and one hand on the powerpack leash. The power packs are floating free now, they're weightless but have huge momentum. If you don't get them under control, they'll tear you off the railing."

"There's not enough time to transfer them to you," said Margot.

"Grab the leash, I'll press my hand on the puncture. Then we can get moving to the damaged section of the arm."

She moved her hand and grasped the powerpack leash again. She heard the whoosh of renewed air leakage but then felt Kenner's hand around her waist. His palm felt the swell of her belly, then his hand grabbed her crotch tightly. She moved her legs to accommodate his big hand and the air loss stopped. She looked at her heads-up readings and saw them stabilize. She realized that he'd stuck his long middle finger into the puncture, and it fit precisely, creating a new seal. In the process, he pushed the space particle hard against her pussy lips.

"Fuck!" she expostulated. "That's cold!"

"It feels like an ice chip," said Kenner.

"Let's get on with the job, you bastard," she said.

He smiled, and they began inching outward along the arm again. Each time she moved, she felt his finger and the ice chip on her panties. She now wished she'd worn her coveralls under her soft suit. Just the steady movement of her body was enough to keep his finger rubbing the ice chip on her clit in a rhythmic motion.

"God," she whispered into their private channel. "You're going to make me cum!"

"Focus," said Kenner.

"I'm trying, you bastard," she said, as they got to the damage site.

"I'll hold the railing with one hand, and hold you by the crotch with my other hand," said Kenner. "That way you'll have two free hands to work."

"Okay," she panted.

He felt her panties growing damp on his probing middle finger.

"Grab the broken strut on the damaged side," he said. "It's designed to twist out. Take both pieces out."

"Okay," said Margot.

She grabbed the two ends of the broken strut and twisted. As she exerted pressure with her arms, her legs clamped together over his hand, driving his middle finger deeper into the puncture in her suit and pressing the ice chip harder against her clit. She felt wetness leaking out of her pussy.

"Omigod!" she gasped.

The broken pieces of the strut came free and she let them float away into space.

"Twist out the reinforcing strut from the undamaged side in the same way," said Kenner, still calm. "Then you can snap it in to balance the arm. That should hold it for the time being."

"What's going on?" Adi's voice was still high-pitched, rattled. "Why do you have your hand in my wife's crotch, Hardwood?"

"Her suit has a puncture," said Kenner. "Now shut up, and let us work."

Margot got the reinforcing strut free as Kenner had instructed. But when she tried to snap it in to replace the one she had removed, it was too short.

"It doesn't fit," she said in their private channel, her voice rising.

"The arm is bending with the stress of the ship's velocity," said Kenner. "You'll have to pull in the far end. Tie the powerpack leash to the trailing end of the arm structure. That should be enough mass to bring it in. You only need a few millimeters."

"I'll try," said Margot, doubtfully.

She snapped in one end of the strut and then tied the leash of the powerpacks to the trailing end of the arm structure. As Kenner predicted, it aligned it. She pushed the strut into position, grunting with the effort. She realized that she was pushing Kenner's finger even deeper into her suit. The strut nearly set, and she redoubled her efforts. Kenner's finger was forced through her panties, tearing a hole in the center seam. His finger pushed the ice chip into the warm wetness of her pussy.

"OMIGOD! I'm going to cum!" she cried, louder.

The strut snapped into place and Kenner's middle finger was forced two knuckles into her pussy. The ice chip was on his fingertip, deep inside her. She began to cum, her thighs threshing around his hand. Her lower body spasmed, and she cried out again, "OMIGOD! I'M CUMMING! I'M CUMMING!"

"What's going on there?" Adi's voice was sharp and angry.

"We've jury-rigged the arm," said Kenner.

He felt Margot's pussy continuing to grip his finger. The ice chip was noticeably smaller to his touch.

"Jesus God, Kenner!" Margot hissed into their private channel. "I'M STILL CUMMING!"

"That interstellar ice chip traveled billions of miles looking for your pussy, Margot," Kenner said, with a grin.

"I can't think! I can't concentrate!"

"Compartmentalize, Bonnebaise," Kenner said. "Keep the job separate from your physical state."

"I'll try," she panted.

They began moving outward along the arm again. Kenner was tight against Margot's back, suit to suit to keep his tight hold on her crotch. She still felt the ice chip deep in her pussy, along with Kenner's finger. Now she felt Kenner's growing hardon through their soft suits. The heat of his finger, the cold of the ice chip, and his organ against her buttocks crack kept her so erotically stimulated that her vision was blurry. She had a hard time even taking in the readings on her helmet heads-up display.

They made it to the main array and moved to the powerpack mount behind the dishes. Margot quickly snapped out the dysfunctional powerpack and set it adrift. Kenner used his foot to push it away from the Leda, and it tumbled slowly away, diminishing in size as its distance from the spaceship increased.

Margot unhitched the two powerpacks from each other and kept one on the leash. She used both her hands to set the free one in the cradle and snapped the securing cables into place. She tapped the exterior control panel, and it lit up immediately.

"Well done, Bonnebaise!" said Kenner. "The main array is up and running."

"So far, so good," she panted. "Let's get to the auxiliary array."

She pulled on the leash to move forward along the arm again with the remaining powerpack. As she propelled herself, she felt his forefinger push deeper into her.

"God, Kenner!" she gasped. "I think I'm going to cum again!"

"It's the thrill of achievement," he said. "It's always a rush."

"You're excited too! You're hard! And big! I can feel you!"

"I am, Margot Bonnebaise."

They kept moving, a meter at a time. The ice chip in Margot's pussy grew smaller all the time. And then it was gone, the melted fluid seeping into her.

"I don't hate you as a person, you know," she puffed when they were almost at the auxiliary array. "It's just everything about you that I hate."

"You sound exhausted," he said.

"I'm not exhausted! I'm trying not to cum again!"

"Just let yourself go, Margot."

They moved closer to the end of the long arm. The Leda seemed a long way off and Kenner unconsciously tightened his hold on Margot, his hardon an even more obvious protrusion against her rump. They both felt their physical closeness acutely. He twisted his finger in her pussy ever so slightly.

"OMIGOD!" she gasped. "I'm cumming AGAIN! Fuck!"

"What about me do you hate?" Kenner's voice was still calm.

"A superficial jock," Margot panted. He felt her thighs tensing through her contractions. "Who thinks the world revolves around him and doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"Brace, Margot! Brace, everyone!" Kenner's voice was urgent and he was on the open channel.

She looked out to see another shower of ice debris hurtling toward them, growing larger by the second. Kenner pushed her body into the steel of the arm and tightened his hold on the only hold he had on her -- her crotch. She gripped the railing with one hand and the leash with the other. Kenner felt her pussy clench his finger spasmodically and knew she was still cumming. She's continuing to cum even in the face of impending danger, he thought. What a babe!

The ice began striking the arm, and one larger chunk hit the auxiliary array straight on, smashing it. A piece of the metal dish ricocheted into the tip of the arm, severing it. Kenner saw that they were detached from the Leda and beginning to drift away.

"Let go of the leash, Bonnebaise!" he commanded. "That powerpack is no use to us now! And let go of the railing, untether yourself. The tip of the arm has been cut loose, we have to get back to the Leda."

They were about a hundred meters away from the ragged stub of the arm and drifting farther away with every passing second.

"We've got to use our suit thrusters," said Kenner.

"There's not enough power!" said Margot. She fought to control her fear and keep it out of her voice.

"We're one body now. We'll use up your power first, then mine. Go!"

Margot turned her suit thrusters on and said, "Max power!" into the voice control. Kenner held her tightly as they began to move in the direction of the Leda.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" Adi's voice came through, still panicked.

"Shut up, Adi!" Margot gritted out. "We'll tell you about it later!"

They were closing toward the wrecked stub of the arm, but ever so slowly. Margot held her breath, and her whole body was tense. Even her pussy clenched tighter around Kenner's finger. She had finally stopped cumming.

"Breathe, Bonnebaise. Breathe," Kenner whispered on their private channel

They were about forty meters from the arm when they felt Margot's thrusters begin to fade.

"I'm running out of power!" she cried.

"I'm turning mine on," said Kenner. His calm voice steadied her nerves. "Now!'

With a pilot's expertise, he got his thrusters aligned and they surged forward. He burned all his fuel in the one burst and then they were coasting still closing, slower and slower. They got to within five meters of their goal when their excess velocity ran out. The Leda and the wrecked stub of her arm began to move away from them again.

"Oh no!" Margot cried.

"Grab your suit puncture!" Kenner said, releasing her crotch, putting both hands on her rump, and propelling her forward with all his strength. By Newton's laws, he went backward away from Leda, just as she went forward. She found herself alongside the trailing wreckage, grabbed it, and tethered herself.

She looked back out and saw Kenner. The gap was now fifteen meters and growing. Without thinking, she put her feet on the steel arm and kicked hard. She moved toward him, tethered to the rail on the wrecked arm. She reached out at full extension, and he reached toward her. She caught his hand just as her tether pulled her up short. She heard her air rushing out through the puncture in her suit, but she put out her other hand and grabbed his wrist.

Kenner reached around her, caught her tether with one hand, and put his other hand back in her crotch. As his middle finger sank into her pussy again, she gasped anew.

"I've never been so happy to be finger fucked in my life," she panted. "I think I'm going to cum again!"

"It's the relief and the release of stress," said Kenner, grinning. "I'm aroused too, I've got a hardon that won't go away. Just stay loose. I'll pull us back to the arm on your tether."

A few minutes later they were back on the wrecked arm. Another fifteen minutes of physical intimacy, his forefinger in her pussy, his hardon between her buttocks, and they were back at the airlock. Adi had it open, and they pulled themselves in. They both let out long sighs of relief as the airlock hatch resealed.

"I kept cumming and cumming out there," said Margot in their private channel before she removed her helmet. "I don't understand how my body kept secreting oxytocin. It was a life-or-death situation, I should have been pumping out adrenalin. That would have killed sexual stimulus."

"A life-or-death situation makes you cum harder, Margot."

"That's not what the science says," she retorted.

"You're such a nerd!" Kenner laughed. "I've never seen a woman cum as you did out there. Sex is not a science experiment."

"Everything is science, Kenner. But I can't expect a dumb jock like you to understand."

"Well, I never saw you cum like that with Professor high-IQ Adi. Even though he's got a big cock."

"How do you know?"

"I watched you two fucking," said Kenner. "It was the highlight of my lonely nights in my cabin."

"We shut off the feed!" said Margot.

"I hacked into the system," said Kenner. "I couldn't help myself."

Margot flushed.

"Thanks for saving my life out there," she said, as she took off her helmet and unzipped her soft suit. And making me cum like a crazy woman, she thought.