The Empty Ship

She cautiously walked into the town while she clutched her basket close to herself and she kept her eyes open. Then she saw him. He was outside the community center and from the looks of things, he was searching for her.

What should she do? He hadn't spotted her yet. She went to the side of one of the buildings and waited. She needed to know if she could trust him or not. She needed to know if she could talk to him or not. And why hadn't the damned robot told her he was there when she'd asked?

She couldn't just walk up to him. What if he raped her? Why was that idea turning her on? Not now for fuck's sake. Not fuck's sake. No. She took that back. Something else's sake.

Oh, what if he was a cannibal? What if the reason there weren't any people left was because they all ate each other. What if ...

The feeling started to hit her. The thought of a man, and a man's thing ... oh, it was too much. She tried to hold it in but her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she was so light headed in fact that she had to sit leaning against a wall or she'd pass out.

When she got a hold of herself she looked over towards the street and the male was then coming into view. He looked around and then he spotted her. Ok, she needed to have her wits about her. Let's try to make the best of the situation and go out there and have a polite and civilized conversation.

"Hello." Marsha said after she got to her feet while she kept her basket in front of her and mentally looked for an escape route in case she needed to run.

He had blond hair like Marsha and he was tall. He sort of looked like Marsha's father and if not for his age she might have mistook him for her dad at a distance.

"Hi." he said to her as he was standing there with a huge grin.

"I'm Marsha Flin."

"I know. Maybe this will be ... sort of weird but ... I'm Tom."

"Excuse me?"

"Tom. I'm Tom, your brother Tom."

"Tom? But you're all grown up."

"Yeah. I woke up about ... what has it been? Nine or ten years now. Something like that."

"What about mom and dad? Are they awake too?"

"No. They're ... They didn't make it."

"Oh. I see. They didn't wake up?"

"No. There were a lot of people who didn't wake up."

"So, what happened. Where are all the colonists?"

"They're all gone. They've been gone since before me. Carlotta said they started fighting over who should be in charge after the ship got damaged."

"Damaged!"

"Yeah. I don't know the exact details but we never made it to Ajo. Not exactly."

"Then where the hell are we?"

"Way past Ajo. Like way ... WAAAAAY past Ajo."

"How far exactly is WAAAAY past Ajo?"

"The ship was going at like almost the speed of light for like a thousand years or something and then ..."

"A thousand years! What?"

"Yeah. They lost control of it after some space battle thing happened. But don't worry. Right now we're in orbit around a star at a pretty safe distance."

"So the ship is damaged and no one has control over it."

"The ones who woke up before me were able to get the ship to this star and every time we go around it we're getting the ship to even out to a more circular orbit. In the beginning it was like all long and stuff like a comet but it's a lot better now."

"There are others awake?"

"Oh, no. Not anymore. Carlotta was the last one but she died about five years ago."

"So, you've been all alone since then?"

He nodded and then they started walking together back to the golf cart and Marsha looked over her shoulder to where George was waiting. She'd have to come back and visit but for now she sort of felt safe with her brother.

"When I first woke up there was still a group of these four old ladies. They tried to look after me but then one of them died and then it wasn't long before the others passed away, too."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's just been me, the robots and the animals ever since. They're not much for conversation and most of the time it's just quiet."

They got to the cart and Tom invited Marsha to sit next to him as he got behind the steering wheel. Tom started driving and they began to move down the street at a rather slow speed. Still, it was better than walking.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked.

"Well, right now we're going to my place. I have plenty of room." said Tom. "Not that you have to live there. You can live ..."

"I mean, what are we going to do?"

"I don't understand."

"You know. What's the plan for getting to Ajo? Do they know where we are?"

"Ajo is really far away and they were the ones who shot at the ship in the first place. The ship had to flee or get blasted to pieces."

"Excuse me?"

"The government there changed or something and they didn't want the Empress to show up so they sent a fleet of ships to destroy us."

"So, we're in this mess because of her."

"I guess you could look at it that way. According to the ship log there was like all this damage. The colonists were trying to fix some of it but they never really got control of the ship again and then they separated into different factions and there was some fighting and then they were all dead."

"And they never bothered to wake any of us up?"

"I guess not. We'd all just be more mouths to feed. I mean, there's plenty of food now but it looks like that wasn't always the case. A few hundred years after all the colonists were gone some of the sleep chambers started failing. Some times the people inside survive and wake up and sometimes they don't."

"And mom and dad didn't?"

"No. A lot of the people in there are probably already dead but the computer doesn't know it because their chambers are still working."

"Then we have to wake up the ones we can before ..."

"Easier said than done. All the controls are in Alokish and the Narranese translation is ... well a lot less than perfect at this point. No one was expecting us to have to take over the ship and some of the words and phrases from Alokish just don't translate. Those sleep chambers are funny, too. If you don't do things just right, and in the right order according to what the computer is telling you, then you'll kill the person inside before they even start breathing. And each one is different."

"Do we have any control over the ship?"

"Some, yeah. Indirectly. Sorta."

"Can we get ourselves back to Narra?"

"That's even much more ... um ... farther away. The computer says it's not even in the same place anymore."

"Are there any inhabited systems nearby?"

"Nope. Not according to the comm."

"How about a planet? Anything. I don't really want to stay on a damaged ship."

"This star system has a planet rated as .3 and another on the cold side rated at 1.3."

"1.3 what?"

"Um ... 1.3 Earthmass. I don't know what that means but according to the computer; one is best and you don't want to go too much bigger or smaller than that."

"Can we go there?"

"We don't have any transport ships and this behemoth wasn't meant for landing or anything like that. Besides, the atmosphere there wouldn't really be good for our health. The computer did a terraforming simulation and the bigger planet would probably be pretty good if we could get the smaller one in orbit around it and make the atmosphere a bit thicker so it could warm up."

"Why don't we do that then?"

"With what?"

"Well we can't just stay on a doomed ship."

"It's in pretty good shape right now and we have more food than we could ever eat even if we could wake everyone up at the same time."

"What if we start venting atmosphere? What if the lights burnout and we have to replace them? What if ..."

"Then the computer will give me instructions on what to do."

"Look, Tom, I don't trust some thousand year old computer. Ok? We need to get out of here."

"The computer is about seven thousand years old because that's how long we've been orbiting this star. The ship is fine. The computer is fine. Sure, the towns are all crumbling ruins and the forests are full of wild dogs but ..."

"Wild dogs?"

"Oh, yeah, whole packs of them out there."

"How do they survive?"

"The same as everything else."

"But what do they eat?"

"Birds, deer, rabbits, and even cows I guess."

"We have all that?"

"Yep. All that and more land than we could ever explore in a lifetime."

"But no way to get off?"

"If we want a ship for going outside we'd have to make one. It might be possible but not with just the two of us. And we'd have to get some of the factories operational again. I can get the computer to tell me what needs to be done but that wouldn't mean I'd know how to do it."

"So, we're stuck here ... forever."

"Pretty much. But it's not all bad. The ship recognizes me as the owner so that's something and I have a leg up on the captain's test."

"What are you talking about?"

"I own the ship. I was the last person alive so ownership was transferred to me."

"Does that help us in any way?"

"A lot. That means I can access everything in the computer and I ..."

"You're authorized personnel!"

"Yes."

"And you can make me authorized personnel?"

"Sure. Now if I can pass the captain's test then we'll really be in business."

"What does that do?"

"It means I can directly order the ship to change course without doing the round about things we've had to do until now. It also means we'll have access to the bridge and some of the restricted ..."

"Why don't you have access to that stuff now if you're the owner."

"The ship needs to make sure that someone competent is in charge who knows all the ship functions. Plus there's an oath that's part of the test if you pass. You have to swear to stuff like putting everyone else's life above your own and stuff like that. Some of those restricted storage areas have shuttles we could use provided they're still functional."

"Then why haven't you taken the test yet?"

"I did. I got a 40% the last time."

"What do you need to pass?"

"100. But look, I'm getting closer each time I ..."

"So as captain you could get us closer to that planet?"

"I could tell the ship to go into orbit around it. We couldn't land but then the trip from the ship to the surface in a shuttle wouldn't be so far. Again, provided that any of those shuttles still work. But even if they don't, we might be able to fix them or use them for parts for a new one."

"Why didn't anyone else do this before?"

"The test is in Alokish. It's a fiendishly difficult language. I've been studying it for ten years now and I've hardly made a dent. Adults have an even harder time with it. And the test room you have to go in requires that you can't take anything in there with you. I can't use a robot for translation and I can't bring my notes. Now, if I ever pass, as captain I can order that all the ship functions change to Narranese but ..."

"But you have to pass the fucking test first. Fuck!"

"I'm not the only one to try but I am the only one to get over 10%. The damn ship is so picky about every answer. Plus the phrases it uses for the test must be jargon or something half the time. Like, the test talks about florescent stars but that doesn't make any sense so I figured it must be talking about bright stars. It's weird."

As Tom was driving, Marsha became conscious of the fact that she was really almost naked. This damn hospital gown really didn't do a very good job of covering her up properly. More disturbing than that, however, was the fact she found herself looking at Tom's body. A man's body with a man's thing. Her crotch burned with excitement while her head tried to maintain its composure in front of him.

Tom drove them out past the trees, past a huge field that went all the way up the side of the ship in the distance, and even passed the next town. He stopped the cart outside a circular tower made of stones stacked on top of each other. Surrounding the tower was a fenced in area with a horse, some unfamiliar equipment and a chicken coop.

"This is where you live?"

"Oh, yeah. You'll love it here. I have plenty of room and everything. I don't have an extra bed just now but I can get one for you and in the meantime you can sleep in mine and I'll take the sofa."

"This is a farm or something?"

"Well, yeah but just come inside and take a look."

Unlike the medieval look of the outside, the inside looked modern and comfortable. The first floor was a spacious living room and kitchen, the second floor was a vast library, and the third floor had four bedrooms. There was even a forth floor but it was just a wide, empty room. Above the forth floor was an observation deck where Tom had several kinds of plants growing.

"So, I take it, you like to read?"

"A bit. A lot of those books are printouts from all the notes and observations we awakened ones have made about the ship. It's sort of a backup in case someone wakes up and no one's alive out here."

"Oh, but I thought we were just fine being on this ship?"

"We are but that doesn't mean we don't think about the future."

"I don't suppose you have any ... clothes I can wear?"

"Oh, totally. Um ... you can help yourself to whatever I have. There is some women's clothing in storage from like way long time ago but it's all vacuum sealed so they should be fine even after all this time. If you don't like how they look you could probably use the fabric to make something new. I have a sewing machine if you want to use it."

"There wouldn't be any makeup or anything like that would there?"

"No. None of that stuff survived."

Tom gave her some privacy in his bedroom and Marsha selected a pullover shirt and some shorts. She briefly took a look at her brother's underwear but decided that she wasn't going to borrow that.

Oh no. Why? Not now. She was unable to remain standing. She was in his bedroom with her clean clothes in hand and something in her forced her to her knees. She sat her butt back onto her feet and crossed her arms across her chest. Inside her abdomen it felt like there was a balloon expanding in size. It was painful but also pleasurable. It seemed to grow and then contract and it did that several times. Her skin released a layer of sweat all over her body.

When she opened her eyes her vision was still all black and it took a moment for her to actually be able to see again as the light faded back in. She looked around the room, which was just a basic bedroom with a closet and a dresser. As she got to her feet, she was very happy that there was a bathroom connected directly to the bedroom. She just knew Tom was probably standing right outside and she didn't want him to see her like this. She didn't want anyone to see her like this.

She spent a nice long time in the shower just getting herself clean and also getting herself ... regular. When she was done she looked at herself in the simple shirt and shorts. They weren't particularly flattering but it was a vast improvement over the thing she'd been wearing.

She looked at herself in the new looking full size mirror he had in his bathroom and felt she looked pretty ok. Her hair was washed and she'd put a comb through it. She didn't have anything for her very pale complexion but it was just her brother so that would be ok.

She exited the bedroom and was sort of expecting her brother to be out there but he wasn't. He wasn't in the library either. He was all the way down on the first floor, sitting in the corner and looking at a computer terminal. It was really odd but it looked practically brand new like everything else in the tower.

As soon as he saw her he got to his feet and began to approach her before she was even all the way down the steps.

"So, everything ok?"

"Um ... yeah. Everything's fine."

"You found everything ok?"

"Yeah, perfect. What's that?"

"The computer?"

"It looks new."

"I had it fabricated about two years ago."

"We can do that?"

"For most things. I had to make horseshoes by hand but I've got a pretty good supply right now."

"Does that computer have access to the ship?"

"Oh, yeah. Everything. That's how I figured out someone was awake. You were putting inquiries in and I saw that in a report."

"Oh. I thought maybe you had noticed when you went to check on ... you don't check on those asleep, do you?"

"The ten thousand in the sleep chamber? No. I don't even go over there."

"Why not?"

"Well, there's nothing I can do and it's ... not a place I like to go."

"Ok, so what are you doing right now?"

"Just updating my to-do list. I mean, don't get me wrong, this isn't exactly a hard life but there's always a lot of work to be done."

"Like studying for the test?"

"No. I almost never have the time."

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, I sort of rescheduled everything because I needed to go get you. I mean, it could have been anyone coming out of the sleep chamber but since they tend to fail in clusters I knew there was a higher chance for you and so ..."

"So if I had been someone else you would have just left me out there?"

"No. That's not what I said. I mean, sure I'd go help anyone but there's a bit more push knowing that it could have been you."

She was looking at him and right when he said the word 'push' she suddenly had the image in her head of him pushing his cock into ... She blushed and looked away.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just still need to take all this in, you know."

"Yeah. I know."

She was standing there and he gently began to put his arms around her to comfort her. It was sort of awkward, like he'd never had to do that before. Oh wait, he probably never had. She realized he probably needed a hug just as much as she did. He was her little brother and he'd been all alone and had to raise himself. She put her arms around him and they embraced for a few moments.

She burned. She burned for him. She could smell him. She could feel the muscles in his body. She was slowly turning into butter in his arms and without being able to help it, she partially fainted. He kept her from falling and picked her up. He carried her over to the sofa and laid her there.

She was struggling to get control of herself again and when she sat up a bit and opened her eyes, he was returning with a glass of water.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry. I don't know why that keeps happening."

"It's the sleep chamber. Some of the old journals talk about it but they're all kind of vague in how they describe it."

Vague. Yeah she could understand why they'd want to be vague. "Is there any medication?"

"No. The computer thinks it's caused by a build up of the chemicals from sleeping too long. It's in deep too. Most of the journals say it takes about two years for it to pass."

"Two years?"

"Or longer. I mean, I don't know what to tell you because I don't know what you're feeling but ..."

"You didn't go through this?"

"No. It seems to only happen to girls that are past puberty."

"Pff. Sexist. So unfair."

"Right, because the random biology that created mankind was worried about fairness instead of survival."

"I can't stay this way for two years."

"It'll be ok. I'll take care of you."

When he said that she unwillingly imagined a very good way he could take care of her.

"No, that's ok. I don't ..."

"I want to."

"You do?" She was suddenly confused by what exactly he was suggesting. Her mind was screaming at her to let him fuck her while her morals were telling her that had to be impossible.

"Yeah. Of course I do. You're my sister. I mean, according to the journals you'll have trouble walking at times. You'll have trouble speaking at times. You might even just lose consciousness at times. I've got a handle on just about everything now but if you let your guard down this ship can be dangerous. There are dangerous wild animals out there. So I think the best thing is for you to just let me take care of you until you build up your strength again."