The Rembrandt Legacy

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"More or less," she said, much softer than usual. "That Gravon nearly crushed my neck without even trying to. And the fall afterwards wasn't much better."

"I've only tried-"

She cut me off with a weak wave of her hand. "I know. Thank you. That one was closer than usual." She lowered her head and I saw her gills flex. When she looked back up, a hint of her old smirk was back. Above, the blackness of space had replaced the metal dome of the Waystation. Vael had already taken us out. Padari was with Praecor, receiving her initiation check-up and Crush was belowdecks, dealing with the weapons and armor he had sourced.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked, rising. "I think I'll hit the sack afterwards. Quite a lot of excitement today."

"I'd like some of Praecor's painkillers."

"No problem. I'll be back in a moment."

"Thank you."

Lily fully submerged herself.

* * * *

When I entered Sickbay, Padari stood inside the scanning tube, eyes closed. A bright green beam traveled over her naked body. She had no tattoo and very few scars. Something else I noticed while I watched her being scanned -- she had no scrotum, no visible testicles either. Her penis stood up proudly, the glans near her gem-studded navel. In the bright light of Sickbay, I could see how finely toned her body was, despite its sensual curves.

"Sorry if I'm intruding," I said. "Lily is asking for some pain meds. She took a nasty bump in the brawl earlier."

"Give me a moment, we're almost done here," Praecor said.

"Shall I go wait outside?"

Padari laughed, a short, full-bellied guffaw. "You've already seen everything I have, handsome. Only here, the light's a whole lot better. Doc?"

"You may come out and dress again," Praecor said, whistling softly. "You're in stunning shape."

"I have to be, in my job."

"You should have seen her fight. She could give Bruce Lee a run for his money," I said.

"Bruce Who?" both asked.

"A legendary Terran martial artist."

"Dancing. Fighting. It's basically all the same," Padari said with a shrug. She sashayed out of the tube and picked up her clothing, not bothering to put it back on. "One is a bit faster than the other and involves more deliberate kicking. See you later. Praecor. Rem." She slithered past me and I got a whiff of her scent, like a sunset on hot stones.

Praecor saved Padari's medical record, shut down the apparatus and turned to face me, wearing a cryptic expression.

"You don't trust her?" I asked him.

"Let's just say she's not telling the whole story. Contrary to my usual routine, I did the mental scan first. She was very good at keeping me out of her thoughts. She even tried to tease me."

"What, with a blow job?"

Praecor grinned fiercely. "No, with mental images of her and Cosina double-teaming me. Needless to say, I didn't allow her to win. But there's more."

"No ink."

The Mentalist nodded. "Good. You're paying attention. Very few scars too."

"Is that unusual in a Zuthrian?"

"You tell me."

I thought back to all the Zuthrians I knew. Unless they grew up outside the Zuthrian Dynasty's sphere of influence, most Zuth's were tribal hunters, their favourite prey an immense desert monster they call "sand dragon". These 'dragons' were massive snakelike beings who generated enough static electricity from burrowing through the deserts to spit lightning and create their own force fields on which they "swim" through the sands. One of my acquaintances had shown me a holovid of such a hunt. The Zuthrians used wind-powered sand sleds, often a hundred feet or longer, bristling with harpoons and spears, to hunt down their quarry. The only concession to modern technology were a few rocket launchers as backup, should the hunt go badly. Zuthrians were fiercely proud of their accomplishments, especially if they scraped a win from Death's cold embrace. Considering the harsh conditions of their world and trade, most had scars and weren't shy about displaying them or incorporating them into their tats.

"She dances like a sinful goddess, fights like a demon and has very few scars to show for it," I summed up my thoughts.

Praecor applauded slowly. "Eloquently put. Much like everyone else on this ship. Padari is an interesting specimen." He rose and activated a machine, which quickly spat out two pills wrapped in a one-shot dispenser. "Give this to Lily. It should take the worst off. And let her know she should see me when she finds the time."

"Will do. Thanks, doc."

"I wish you would stop calling me that. What's wrong with 'Praecor'?"

"Sorry, do-, Praecor. I'll try to shake the habit."

"Good. Otherwise you might wake up with a slightly altered brain and develop feelings for the front end of a plasma gun." His grin took the edge off that threat. Nevertheless, I didn't stick around.

* * * *

The lounge was quiet and almost empty. Most lights had been dimmed, with only the pool lights providing colorful illumination. The holo screen, audio muted, showed the intro sequence of "Fading Stars", the long-running Nor action/drama/porn series. In it, the sentient species of the Galactic Community fought the everlasting battle against the Faceless menace. Space battles, intrigue and sex featured heavily in the plots. Whenever Faceless and their shapeshifting antics were involved, the sex tended to end fatally. It happened so often, it had long since turned into a trope. I've seen enough episodes and was frankly tired of the repetitive plot and the formulaic sex scenes, but it still was on the air.

Padari sat at the edge of the pool and dangled her feet into the water while Lily drifted lazily around on her back. Soft, airy Nor music came from speakers hidden in the ceiling.

I walked to the bar and fetched a glass of water.

"I got you something for the pain," I said, joining Padari at the pool's edge.

Lily rolled onto her stomach, dove gracefully and pulled herself half out of the water when she reached the edge.

"Thank you," she said, taking the dispenser. She quickly popped the pills into her mouth and chased them down with the water I had brought.

"Well, I'm off for tonight," I said, straightening up. "See you ladies tomorrow."

"Rem, wait." Lily pulled herself out of the pool and caught up with me. She hugged herself against me, immediately soaking my clothes. "I didn't properly thank you for saving me."

"I'm sure you already said-" I began, only be cut off by her lips on mine. She kissed me, much more forceful than ever before. One of her hands cupped the back of my head and held me in place, the other dove under my shirt, crawling up my spine. Almost on instinct, my arms went around her, pulling her close by her firm, wet ass. Despite my fatigue, I was hard within moments. Lily ground her pelvis against my rod. A hungry moan escaped her lips.

Eventually, she relented. I took a hungry, deep breath, my heart racing. Her scent was powerful, intoxicating. A note of ocean, a hint of flowers. I breathed greedily.

A small grin tugged at Lily's mouth, that mischievous smirk when she was hatching a plan. She melted against me once more, this time licking the soft of my neck. One hand went around my waist while the fingernails of her other scraped against the bulge in my wet jeans. I shivered. If from the chill emanating from my soaked clothes or her touch, I couldn't say. Her mouth moved slightly until her lips could catch my earlobe. She sucked quickly. Her hand on my crotch cupped my balls, the thumb firmly pressed against my erection.

"It would be such a shame to waste this nice hard-on, don't you think?" she whispered. "You can have a nap once I... or Padari," here, even I could feel my cock twitch, "have dealt with this. You'll sleep much better, promise."

I opened my mouth. There was something I wanted to say. But before I could form the words, I noticed some odd things. My hand was on Lily's breast, her hard nipple poking my palm. Her hands were inside my jeans, caressing, fondling, gently tugging. The thought fizzled away, deflected by the sudden swell of warmth emanating from my crotch.

"Let's get you out of these wet threads," Lily purred, pecking kisses onto my cheek, my neck. "How about it? Don't want you to catch a cold, after all."

Lily would never do anything bad to you No idea where that thought came from. My wet shirt hit the floor.

"Mind if I join in?" Padari asked. She melted against my back, her warm breasts an exciting contrast to Lily's cool, moist skin.

"By all means," Lily purred. My jeans dropped to my ankles, the metal belt buckle clattering on the stones. "There's more than enough down here for the both of us."

A second pair of hands joined Lily's, exploring my hardness, fondling my balls. My briefs joined the jeans and like a six-footed mutant, we shuffled a bit to the side, out of the pile of clothes. Lily went to her knees in front of me, her breath hot on my cool skin. Padari pressed her whole body against me. I shot up ramrod-straight as her erection wedged between my butt cheeks. Pressed against my rear, it felt enormous. Hot. And I could feel her heartbeat through it.

"Whoa, wait..." I groaned, almost coherent again. Padari moved both her hands down my front, caressing my stomach and thighs. She nibbled on my neck, her breath putting my hairs on edge. Her cock against my ass had all my attention, even drowning out Lily's hot mouth around my glans.

"Relax, Rem," she breathed, barely audible above Lily's enthusiastic mouth. "I know how to behave." She squeezed my ass with one hand. "Besides, if I wanted your behind, I'd be lubed up by now. Look down."

I did as she asked. Lily looked up at me, a radiant smile on her lips which were wrapped around my shaft. I could feel her tongue swirling around my tip, teasing the underside with quick, fluttering licks. My misgivings, such as they were, melted away. Lily was right. Afterwards, I would probably sleep like a baby, especially if both...

Padari's hands came around my waist again, her fingers digging into Lily's hair. The Aquarian grabbed my ass with both hands and relaxed as Padari began to fuck my cock with Lily's mouth, long, deep strokes, interrupted only by short moments for Lily to gasp a breath or two into her lungs.

I barely noticed Padari grinding her cock against my ass by that point, or the wetness seeping down her shaft. I was utterly enthralled by the spectacle of Lily taking the full length of my dick without apparent gag issues, her tongue lathering it on it's way out.

Padari moaned behind me, a sound so full of need, even Lily stopped devouring me.

"She's right, you know," Lily gasped, her face flushed a particular shade of azure. "As hosts, we should treat our newest guest accordingly." Her hands caressed my ass, which reflexively clenched tight.

Lily rose, pecking a salty kiss onto my lips. "As much as I'd like to see that, even I have to agree that's a little early for it. I have a better idea. Come, you two."

Padari hugged herself against my front. It was a weird sensation, her heaving breasts against my chest and two hot, wet cocks pressed in between our bodies. "I'd be very gentle, promise," she whispered before taking my hand and guiding me to the sofa Lily had picked.

"Rem, sit down," Lily instructed. I did as she asked, my body moving with more eagerness than I truly felt. But my inner turmoil had its upsides. The conflicting signals of extreme arousal and fear of Padari's cock deep in my ass kept me going without spiking too soon. I melted onto the sofa, scooting backwards until my ass ended up against the backrest.

"Good. You wait just a second," Lily told Padari. She bent low and sucked my cock, quickly, hungrily, before straddling my hips. She knelt above my hard-on, using it to stimulate herself. Slowly, oh so bloody slowly, she lowered herself, until my glans parted her folds. Hissing softly, Lily sank onto my rod, her hot tunnel enveloping me like a gloved fist.

Padari, moaning softly and stroking herself, slid onto the cushion next to me. I reached over and pulled her close, kissing her full on the mouth for the first time. She responded, much more tenderly than I had anticipated, almost shy. Then, suddenly, a hoarse moan. She broke the kiss and my eyes fluttered open again. Lily had her hand wrapped around Padari's erection and played with it, long, deliberate strokes making wet noises as she thoroughly slicked Padari's shaft with precum.

"I can keep doing this," Lily said softly, her pussy clasping me even tighter, "or you can feed it to my mouth while Rem fucks me, nice and slow."

Padari growled, a deep, guttural sound. She went to her knees beside us and pulled Lily's head down, burying her glistening cock in the Aquarian's mouth. Both moaned and I added a happy little grunt to the chorus as I placed both hands on Lily's hips, driving myself into her tight, hot cave.

Lily was in no hurry. Her hips rolled languidly against mine, causing delicious friction between us. Padari again had her hands in Lily's hair, holding her head while she pumped her cock between Lily's lips. My boss made happy, gurgling sounds as the Marked Zuthrian plundered her mouth, driving that enormous phallus deeper and deeper into Lily's poor mouth.

One of Lily's hands found mine and held it. Her hips moved faster, more urgently and I tried my best to match her speed. Lily released Padari's cock with a wet, smacking sound, a long trail of saliva glinting like an inverted rainbow connecting it to her mouth.

"Help me out a little," she gasped, a bright smile on her lips.

"Huh?"

Lily moved my hand up and closed it around Padari's shaft. "You can keep her from choking me with it," she suggested, making a pumping notion with her other hand. Then she closed her lips around Padari's glans again and gave a noisy suck. My hand crawled along Padari's shaft, causing the Zuthrian to groan with each thrust. She pushed down on Lily's head, forcing her closer and closer to mine. Lily gasped for air and pulled away. Padari's cock snapped back and slapped against my lips.

I opened my mouth to complain, but Padari, still fucking my hand, pushed and suddenly I had a mouthful of cock. My tongue tried to push it out, but it was pushing back much harder.

Over my own surprised mumbling, I heard Lily whisper: "Suck it Rem. For me?"

A reasonable request. Besides, Padari didn't taste bad. And she showed a surprising amount of restraint. At least she wasn't violating my throat. My tongue flapped against her cock, causing her to moan in approval. She withdrew, nearly leaving my mouth. I felt weight shift on my body. Lily's hands closed around mine, pulling them away from Padari's cock and putting them on her hot, curvy ass instead. And then there were Lily's cheeks close to my hands. She made wet, kissing sounds between them. Padari groaned and picked up speed again, fucking my mouth. With my hands removed, she had full control on how deep, how fast she went. Even after that short of a time, my jaw already felt distended and ached as she slowly slid her length into my mouth. Her hands were in my hair, not pulling my head closer, but ruffling the short, wet fuzz, caressing my scalp. Her moans rose in pitch, gained a certain urgency. I knew what was coming and I tried to push her out again, this time much more determined. But she wouldn't budge backwards. Instead, she suddenly jerked forwards with a surprised yelp, hitting the back of my mouth. And then she exploded like a firehose, shocking me into my own climax. I helplessly writhed and spat as what felt like gallons of cum poured from her, in an instant filling my mouth to overflowing.

And as if someone had pulled a bag from my head, I was clear again. What was I doing? Why was I giving her a damn blowjob to begin with? I coughed and retched and spat, soiling the cushions. With both Lily and Padari crouching above me, there was no way to go. Snarling, I grabbed Padari's wrists and levered her off me. Lily was wise enough to leave of her own volition. I heard my own cum drip down her legs, spattering the stone underfoot.

"Rem... I'm-," Padari began.

I grunted, spitting more of her salty stuff onto the floor and waving her away. Lily sat on her haunches, observing. I stormed from the lobby. Above all else I urgently needed a shower.

* * * *

Well, fuck. Even after a good hour under the steaming shower, I still felt violated. Dirty. Confused. And I didn't know which of the three was worse. That was not the way I had imagined my first time after five years to pan out. The idea with the threesome was a good start, but nearly drowning on a Marked Zuth's cum shot? And why did I end up fucking Lily anyways? Didn't I want to go to bed? But when she had kissed me...

No. Wait. The kiss I could handle. Lily was always generous with affection around her crew. Hugs, pecks, gropes. It would take more than a hot smooch to get me this scatterbrained. Especially after Praecor's grueling trials.

It was only after the kiss things went downhill. Something had happened. Either Lily or Padari had done something to change my mind from "going to bed" to "fucking around with them, even ignoring my own ambivalence in regards to Marked cocks.".

I needed answers. And depending on the outcome of said answers, I might as well ask them to drop me off at the nearest Waystation. I was utterly sick and tired of being played with.

But... who to ask?

Lily was out of the question. Until I knew what had happened, I had to assume she or Padari was the culprit.

Vaelia I had already asked. She was either deeply woven into Lily's web or she respected her boss too much to snitch on her.

Cosina probably had an internal code segment which prohibited her from divulging any secrets. So she was out too.

Crush seemed like a straightforward guy. But he would probably tear me limb from limb if I insinuated his boss was mind-fucking me. No. I needed to ask someone in my weight class. Which left only Praecor.

I turned off the water, spat the last dose of mouth wash into the drain and stepped out of the shower. After toweling myself down -- no twitch downstairs, even when I thought about any of my crew mates naked -- I pulled on a dry set of clothes. My weapon belt still was in the lounge, with the set of clothes I had worn on the Waystation. But I still had a few spare mags around here. I pulled two sleep darts free, stashed them in easy-to-access pockets of my vest and left my cabin. Padari, dressed, waited outside.

"Rem-"

"Not now." I ducked past her, evading a hand coming my way and went straight to Sickbay. To my dismay, it was dark. I accessed my communicator. Praecor's cabin was just two doors down. I slapped the bell button. Inside, I heard an annoyed groan.

The door hissed open. The cabin beyond was a twin to mine, with a similarly huge bed. Praecor had his space decorated with a colorful wall carpet, displaying intertwining geometric shapes in radiant colors. The only illumination came from a small bedside lamp.

And Praecor wasn't alone. Slowly disentangling from him, pulling a long, flexible phallus from his ass, was Cosina.

My bluster deflated explosively. "Sorry. I'll come back later." I turned to leave.

"Rem. Wait." Praecor said, out of breath. "What is it?"

Next to the bed, Cosina pulled at her phallus, disconnecting it. She ducked into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you like that," I said, tossing my hands in the air. "It's Lily. I need to talk about her."

Praecor slid from the bed, groaning softly. He rolled his hips and fished for a towel, wrapping it around himself.

"What can I say?" the purple-haired Nor said, shrugging. "I love options."

"I'm not judging. Listen, if you need to freshen up, why don't we meet in Sickbay?"