I said I loved you in the space port

I said I loved you in the space port
-by William Hay

“It’s true I said I loved you in the space port”,  she said.  I was standing close beside her feeling the heat of her body through the light tight fabrics of our body suits.
“But I thought we were going to die,” she said.
The aliens with their long fibrous tentacles had been everywhere in the hallways.  Breeching the walls of the command centre they’d spread out in seconds. I’d hardly had time to pull out  the the laser rifle from the locker before going to  her in the adjacent room. She had strapped on an old fashioned particle pistol.  She was wearing it on a holster on her hip, like some kind of old west cowgirl gunslinger.
“My father gave it to me, a sovenier, he’d picked up at  Old World Earth. “  she’d once told me.
Together we slipped out of our cabins, silently but quicklymaking our way to the space port.
“The station’s over run ? ,” she asked
“I think so.”  I ‘d accessed the camera leads and saw these things everywhere,. The only escape off the station. There were escape ship pods outside every space port.  Each port had  space suits and propulsion packs. . With the way the air in the hall tasted it wasn’t going to be long before we weren’t able to breathe.  All the hulls were self sealing but the scrubbers or the air source itself had somehow been harmed.  The aliens appeared to have suits over their bodies and heads but they had at least 6 tentacles each 3 or 4 feet long extending uncovered from what passed as a suit.  The helmut was like ours but bigger. Big bulbous affairs. It was hard to tell but they appeared to just have one eye and an opening below which must serve as a mouth or air hole.  They carried packs on their backs.  In one of the tentacles they had a tube like weapon that belched flecthetes. I’d seen it take down a crew on the vid even as I was fetching the laser rifle from the locker.
There were three of them slithering down the corridor when I opened with the laser. She plugged one with her pistol. The slug breached the big helmut and passed right into that one eye splatting the inside of the helmut with putrid green blood.  Surprisingly she pulled out another  clip when we’d finished firing together and three aliens lay dead leaking green pus like blood  I  pressed the ‘access’ on the panel at the space port with her covering my back.  We moved togehter into the outer lock, the door closing behind us. .
We  donned our own glass globe helmets.  Her long arms were above her head rolling  her long brown hair into a bun with one hand while the other was holding the helmut above her head ready to slip down. That’s when she said it.
“I love you, you know.”  The helmut was over her head then.    I turned away to look back down the corridor. I pressed “decompress" on the inside panel.  A large octopus black head in glass bubble poked around the bend, tentacles slithering forward towards the door.  One great bulbous eye appearing on a stalk  stared straight forward at me.   I didn’t wait longer.  The outer door open. We kicked out.
Holding the torpedo pack in front of her with me holding her belt we thrust across the space to nearest pod ship. The outer hatch automatically opened as we closed.  There had been no reason to believe there was any threat here. We were in Home World space.  The outer perimeter was protected by destroyers and mines.  The station was a research facility developing minuscule creatures for an ark  journey. It would one day be incorporated into a major transport ship and the expedition would set off. . We were scientists not warriors.  We’d both had our Navy Seal training. Everyone assigned to the mission had.   But this wasn’t a combat mission.  We’d just been studying the effects of low gravity on hybrid zebra sexual function. The idea was to have an ark of tiny creatures which could be moved across galaxy at low cost in propellant and sustenance to be able to grow in an abundant world to former size. The problem however was the smaller animals needed to be reproductively robust for the journey.  That’s what was paying our  way.  I was a veterinarian xenoiologist and she was a computer analyst specializing in DNA.  At least  until the aliens arrived.
“I’m just not into lesbianism,” she said.
“It’s not like I’m a woman. I”m trans. I have male parts.”
“But I don’t know if I can get used to your breasts. I’ve always liked hairy chested warrior type men."
“You’ve always said they treated you badly. We both know your record. You said I was your best friend."
“Friend yes, but I don’t know about having you as a lover."
‘We could try."
“That’ s what all the guys say. Your nano tech and hormones haven’t changed that about you.” she laughed.
I’d got the tiny pod ship away from the station and lucky for us the things hadn’t followed. She’d radioed central command who had no knowledge of the invasion.  It seemed a discrete insertion of the station.  A destroyer was on the way even as we were thrusting towards the nearest  planet surface. Looking back we could see the oblong shape of the alien ship already moving away from the station, thankfully in a direction opposite to us. .  She’d connected the feed from the station into our visuals so we could see the empty corridors.  It wasn’t easy looking at the dead bodies of friends.  At least there were a few more alien corpses like the ones we’d left to show it wasn’t only a one sided fight.  It wasn’t clear yet what they’d wanted.
The Destroyer engaged them further out.  An exchange of fire appeared with silent explosions through the view port.  At a distance it didn’t seem like much.  Not spectacular like entertainment vids showed.  Just a couple of units of light and some sparks. Then the oblong shape was gone. It had warped or somehow accelerated away.  The destroyer  chose not to follow but headed  towards the station.
“Should be go back?, “ she asked.  We were at the point where we could have entered the planet atmosphere or returned to the station now that the destroyer was coming up alongside it.
“Go on. That’s protocol.  We can return when there’s an all clear. I’ll feel better on the planet after that,” I said.
After docking we’d been debriefed. The word from the station was there were other survivors but many too had died. The breach in the wall of the command centre had killed quite a few. . A few like us had had weapons and escaped to the floating pods that surrounded the ports.  As yet there was no explanation.
We were on the nearby beach. Both of us in skin suits. Military black. Her’s a bikini. Mine a one piece.  There was no regulations about covering breasts. Others on the beach were naked.  Some were topless.  Children and teens were in the ocean. We’d chosen discretion.  Now I was sitting beside her looking down at our legs inches apart enjoying our towels on the sand our hands and arms supporting us.  She really was beautiful. Aquiline nose, high cheek bones, full lips and that long antelope neck.
“When I look at you I see a sister, not a mate,” she was saying.  We’d continued our conversation while waiting for more word on the aliens and the space station.  The repair ship was already there with detectives. The miniature animals were appeared altogether safe, their compounds in the inner part of the ship protected from hull breach.  The computer programs had been accessed though. That was all that could be told.  We’d have to go back and catalogue everything just in case.
"What were they after?” she’d asked.
“I don’t know but I’m sure glad I got you out of there.”
“Yes, I am thankful for that but I might well have got out alone."
“True. That eye shot and the spurting green muck was forever memorable.”
“It’s not that I don’t find you attractive,” she suddenly said, placing her hand on my cheek.
“You said you loved me,” I replied.
“That’s when I thought I was going to be strangled by one of those tentacles or  have my body juices sucked out till I was dead” she laughed.
“You can’t expect me to wait for another alien attack before I hope you’ll  ravish me."
“I guess not,’ she said, her blue eyes twinkling as she twisted about and pushing me back in the sand,  her incredibly sensuous body pressing against me.   She began to kiss me fully on my mouth,  her tongue probing mine inside to tangle with my own now very happy and alert tongue.  The feelings were exquisite.  All of her, her weight, her smoothness, the kiss, her hair on my shoulders, all of it was just as I’d  hoped .  Her mouth was sweet  perfection as her tongue probed mine exciting me beyond anything I’d ever known.
It was not like either of us  were virgins.
We’d both been married and divorced. She’d had children, now grown.
But that’s what they say about chemistry. The heat was so intense that when she lifted off me her breasts grazed my nipples and  I was just awe struck.
“For a first go that  was pretty impressive.” She said smiling down at me. "I may just have to consider you as more than a friend. I could even get used to ravishing you if what you have down there is more than just show.” She was eying the lower part of my bathing suit where some definition had suddenly appeared.  She sat up.
"But not now.” She said jumping up. Kicking sand all over me, she rushed  off to where water met beach wading forward.
“Catch me if you can.’ she called then dove straight into the sea. Her lithe muscular body knifing the little waves as her arms began a powerful crawl her legs and feet thrashing the water behind her.  I wasn’t far behind. Alien invasion or not I wasn’t going to be left behind by the most beautiful,  accomplished, sensuous, intelligent woman in the galaxy. She did look good in a bikini.   We were both in fine  shape. The military demanded it whether we were scientists or warriors first class. I don’t think I would have caught her if she hadn’t wanted to be caught.
Treading water, she mocked me.
“You wouldn’t have had a chance at keeping up with me without those great bulbous water wings of your. They give you bouyancy.  That increased your speed, don’t you think.”  she asked smiling.
I didn’t know what to say. I was sputtering and still catching my breath. She was even more beautiful with her water running down her cheek, her magnificent breasts appearing and disappearing about the surface as she tread, and all around us beautiful calm seal blue sky and snow topped mountains on the distant shore.
“As a woman, if I had what you have down there,I’d never be able to swim naked. Always afraid a fish would take it for a worm.” she laughed, eyes glancing down..
“It would have to be a very big and very brave fish even now,” I said, catching myself masculine defensive at a feminine aside.  I’d like the shrinkage before.  More and more I thought of it as a clitoris.  But the hugeness of the thing had been hard to conceal.  Noow as she spoke of it I rather missed the expansile rapid onset fullness.There was a certain sensation though there in the warm water as our bodies tread water together so close..
“I’d like to look,” she said.
 I was glad for the one piece. She was the kind of girl that I know if I was wearing shorts she’d have ducked under and pulled them down.
 “Oh, I’ve wanted to see you naked for a long time.
“I know. Of course you would. And maybe you will. But I just want to see that, “ she said , glancing down with her eyes.”You can keep the rest clothes on.”
That’s when the sky erupted. Three Saucer like craft, the kind we call flitters,suddenly appeared out of nowhere.  Great sheets of flame rained down on the beach where we’d just been. Screams pierced the air. Flaming bodies dove into the water.  Craters appeared as bombs drop.  One  flitter flashed right overhead ignoring us.  If we’d been on the beach we’d have been vaporized.  There were three of them and they’d concentrated their fire where the most people were.  One after another they flashed over the beach,  their weapons systems targeting the largest groups. We treaded water watching in horror .  As quickly as they’d come They passed on at supersonic speeding towards the city.
“Let’s go,’ there was no need to say it. We were both front crawling at maximal speed to the beach where flames and  destruction reigned.  The screams continued.
She ran ahead of me to life guard station. We both grabbed a couple of emergency suitcases. All were identical first aid trauma kits for emergency use.  All over the planet, the same suitcases were available for just this kind of attack and anything else as well.  In minutes we were injecting morphine, tying tourniquets,  slapping on healing suave and non adhesive bandages.  The burns would have been worse were it not for the nu skin biologicals. Ripping the packages open we slid the skin over the area of burn, the disenfectant , anesthetic and antibiotic coated surfaces of the patches instantly relieving the pain and hugging the wounds.  Previously these would have caused such suffering and scarring. Others were working as quickly as we were. All of us trained today in worthwhile information long after the days when schools were used soled for propaganda organs.  Every citizens was emergency ready. The world had once been such a place of  waste of bubble heads and ego. Now it managed by competent folk.  Industry was for ever startling. Genius was celebrated.   It was hard looking at the tourniquet limbs knowing they’d be lost but the artificial limbs today were thought by some as better than their own.    All manner of scientific advances had been made when the political abuse of science had been stopped. But what had happened to the  alien sensor array. It was supposed to be the first line of defence. Nothing could get through without alarms.  Obviously that would need improving..
The attack on the space station wasn’t a solitary event. This was a full on assault. . In the distance the flitters could be seen bombing and strafing the city.
“We’ve helped a couple of dozen. I think that’s all we can do.  Others are coming now. ” she said. The supplies from the cases were all  gone but emergency vehicles were arriving..
“Time for us to get out of here.” I agreed.  “The ambulances can take these folk to the underground hospitals’.
As she ran across the sand ahead of me I watched her  long hair like a lion’s mane..  When you’re in love you can’t not see such things.  Despite the horrors all around, now more subdued, the screaming stopped, the flames all but out, she looked even more beautiful bounding ahead of me like a young gazelle.  I felt my own breasts bouncing as I wondered if I shouldn’t try for long hair again. It looked lovely on her.  I preferred my shorter bobbed cut. More functional by far.
Our hover craft was waiting.  The AI asked as we took our seats,  “Where would you like to go?"
I looked at her.
“Military Space Compound #53”  she said.  I nodded.
“Top speed,” she added.
Military Space Compound #53 was an underground weapons research facility mere miles away.  Our research project was running out of there as well.  If we could get there we’d not only be comparatively safe but also we'd probably be able to take our place in the military defence. .  Looking up I saw a patrol of navy jets streak overhead  Back at the city behind us missiles were striking  the alien craft still strafing and bombing.  We were going high speed parallel to the action hopeful we’d not be attacked by any of those flitters.
“Are the weapons having any effect.”  she asked, looking as I did at the distant air battle.
“I can’t tell.  So far none of the flitters I’ve been following has gone down.  They’ve definitely taken hits.  One of the jets we saw pass overhead has already gone down. At this distance it’s hard to tell but there doesn’t seem to be force field around the aliens.  There shells just seem tough and impermeable to our missiles and munitions..  I don’t know if they’re doing damage. They're certainly using their speed and maneuverability to avoid the fire from our ships and the ground."
“i’d love to get a look at their propulsion systems.” she replied anger in her voice.
Our craft came up on Compound #53. There were lots of craters all around the area but no rifts. The ground didn’t open automatically. I had to key in my military encryption code.  As I was wondering if it was still in effect the ground began to open.. We got lucky. The concealed ground parted and our AI hover craft descended rapidly even as the small port was closing behind us.  We settled into a vast underground garage.  The AI automatically switched from hover mode to ground transport whisking us across the tarmac to the elevators at the end.
Leaving the vehicle, still dressed only in black bathing suits, carrying  the packs we’d left at the beach in the car,  both of us now with advanced laser combat rifles.  We’d increased our weapons when our escape pod ship,  first landed. Walking quickly now leaving the AI to park,  we joined what seemed like throngs of others heading forward on the moving high speed passenger belts.  The usually spacious  now maximally crowded down elevators descended rapidly opening at various floors to let people off. .
The politicians in a past era had spent  trillions of dollars in committee meetings claiming they were preparing for climate change and doing science. Nothing ever came of that but when a larger than normal meteor did strike the earth causing a few catastrophic tsunamis and earth quakes some real leaders got the funding for this and other such underground survival systems.  Great under ground cities had developed around what had first been military installations which ranged for miles under mountains. Once they’d been prepared only for Presidents  and military commanders the basic idea had expanded to what was now were a truly mixed bag habitat. The cutting edge military research facilities were here but ranging out in all directions was a whole city like any above ground city ever was. Only this one was impermeable to weather anomalies and hostile attack.  It was amazing how far a trillion dollars went when it wasn’t just feeding ego and  hot air.
Today the military were at the exits on every floor directing people to the various stations.  As space researchers and part time warriors they unloaded us at level 23. There we took the high speed train to the science section associated with space exploration and defence.
“Glad to see you two. Sorry your R&R was interrupted but glad you got back safely. “ Harry said, directing the incoming people like a symphony conductor, arms moving every which way.
Harry was the second in command of their unit, a brilliant scientist who was also a competitive athlete, sometimes going to other Home Worlds to do some crazy endurance feats for which he’d won countless medals. HIs girl friend, one of the nano tech lab assistants always seemed on the verge of purring suggesting  his athletic prowess wasn’t solely used for competitive sport.  Now he was seriously into leadership mode.  His remarkable mind  was racing through all incoming data scanning a half dozen wall feeds all the while he directed returning team members to their desk. Talking to us and to earbuds and a head up screen he passed along the latest information.
‘The detectives at the station actually found the aliens did take something. Just put your rifles and your packs over there. It wasn’t apparent at first but forensic analysis of the computer showed exactly where they looked at  Following the digital trail the detectives learned they were only interested in the octopus and snake DNA .  “Their people on site say that the compounds with the miniature octopi and some of the snakes had been breached and some of those appeared missing. Can you get right on that. Find out what they took.  Sort out exactly what they were after. You said they looked like octopus themselves."
“Yes, big single eyed bulbous head  but their tentacles were scaled like a snake.” I reflected.
“Do you think they’re some how related to our earth forms. That might explain the  theft but it doesn’t explain the all out attack on the earth itself.”  She said this while  throwing on  pink t shirt and pulling  purple slacks over her bathing suit.
“We don’t have enough data to speculate yet.  Let’s just find out exactly which species they were interested in. The word from above is the jets are scoring some hits.  The skin of the ships is tough but not impermeable."
 I had just pulled on a black t shirt  and slipped into some some slinky stretchy black slacks.
As we took our place at our computer screens Harry was directed more incoming personnel to their workstations with specific questions. Everyone like us  had weapons and packs with them.  Soon almost half of our old team was on site and working.
I had a list of the snakes that had been taken. We'd had live feeds from the station and could see the octopus was gone.  Only three of the snakes were missing.  A viper,  a rattler and a cobra.  Nothing made sense.  Harry said the war overhead was winding down as the flitters were heading out to space.  More destroyers from the outer rim had come in to join the small earth defence that had been all but overwhelmed by the alien sneak attack.  Nothing made any sense yet.
“Let’s go,” Harry suddenly called out.  “Central command wants us up on the station STAT. We’re taking some of the experimental weapons they’ve been working on with us too. We’ve got some weapons tech. The navy patched up the breaches and the detectives have cleared the station to go. Lets move.  Everyone bring your rifles and pistols.:.
Next moment I had my pack and rifle and was wedged up close to her smelling her hair as we shot upwards in the high speed elevator.  Squatting on the tarmac was one of the new jump ships that looked as close to a stubby beer bottle as a ship could get .  Conveyor systems were carrying electronics and tube devices  high speed into the hull.  Hulls had long lost any projectile mounts all being clean and smooth for travel  through atmosphere. But once they got into space the modern war ship would bristle like a porcupine with all manner of instruments, cannons and antennae appearing .   This ship was special too.  One of the latest nuclear powered high speed highly manoeuvrable fighters it had been designed as a weapons platform for experimental systems. .  We were passengers but everyone was trained for service in the navy.  The regulars were there managing everything but we were now assigned cabins and service locations .I would join the artillery crew in the outer ship  She would be forward. For now we were strapped side by side in acceleration chairs   The ship carried a hundred of us.   We were underway almost as fast as we had our gear stowed.
The earth above us opened to blue sky. Then we were blasting up through the atmosphere everyone strapped into acceleration chairs.  Great view screens looked out from all around the ship.  The smoke above the city was obvious.  Some areas still burned but great fire engine water tanks were gathering  last around  the last of those sites
 “Sill love me,” I asked.
“It’s not what was on my mind,” she said.
“I know.That’s why its my job to remind you.”
She laughed.  The g force against us with the acceleration was increasing.
“Like those puppies now on your chest,” she smiled turning her head to see my expression.
We could hardly speak as the ship shook and more g’s pressed down against us.
I would have liked to have a witty comeback but I was wishing I’d peed once more before this ascent.  The chairs could absorb any manner of human waste, including blood. They contoured to the body and were self cleaning as well. But I didn’t think wetting myself would impress the lady.  Also at these g’s talk was nearly impossible. Best to ride it out. .
“I should have peed once more,’ she said through a grimace.
Then as suddenly as the g force weight had bore down on us it began to let up.  We were through the atmosphere.  The earth had released us from it’s gravity.   We would have floated now  if we weren’t strapped in.
In the distance we could see several destroyers . There were just there.  None of the oblong silver ships were about. I was definitely goose necking around for any  enemy presence.
Artificial gravity kicked in just about then.  She was out of her chair like a shot and headed for the loo. I was only steps behind.   As I waited cross legged in the hall expecting the others would be in use too, I said,”I”m glad they didn’t take the little zebra."
As she came out, she gave kissed me a brushing kiss full on the  lips,  “Me too, “ she said.
I really did love her. But first I had to piss like a race horse and didn’t have time to sit.

To be continued