Sector 27

“…..last recorded ship in that sector was a probe ship like yours, crew of one, nearly a hundred years ago. No record of anyone returning from there, and no large scale expeditions. I guess there’s not much there to interest the ones with the big money.”

“Roger that, Control.” Lounging in the pilot’s seat, Sara Singleton idly punched the buttons to refine her course. “Any other info?”

“Not much. Several small ships have entered that sector over the past couple thousand years, but nothing about any of them making it back. I know you won’t abort, but be very careful in there, SuperSport.”

Sarah grinned at the sound of her nickname. “Yes, mom,” she replied soberly, then laughed. “I’ll even fly on tiptoe, ok?”

“Make sure you do. I want a chance to win back those hundred credits I lost to you last time you were here. “Control out.”

Still smiling, Sarah adjusted her comm to automatically lock onto the strongest available signal. Unlike many, who found the resulting grouping of random voices and message irritating, the meaningless babble soothed her, made her feel less alone.

“And nowhere,” she told herself softly, “is anywhere near as lonely as Sector 27.”

Sector 27 was easily the most mysterious part of space. In the slightly over three thousand years since humanity had first reached this part of the galaxy, no ship had ever returned from that area. There were no charts, no information about planets around the many stars in the sector, nothing.

And Control, Sarah knew, was wrong in one respect. There had been one large expedition, soon after humanity reached this part of space. A colony ship, carrying well over a thousand people, had entered Sector 27, never to be heard from again. The captain of the ship was James Singleton, brother to Sarah’s many-times-great grandfather. There may be no surviving records, but family legend had kept the story of the SS Wanderer alive.

Of course, Sarah told herself, that was back when men were still in charge of space exploration. Back before science had discovered that women were better suited temperamentally to the isolation of space. Which was why all probe ships now had female pilots.

Sarah’s musings were interrupted when her comm unit suddenly went silent. Frowning, she scanned for signals, coming up empty. This was odd. Some ships, Sarah knew, flew dangerously close to the borders of Sector 27 to shave a bit of time off their journey. She should be able to hear their chatter for at least another week, but the comm remained silent, almost as if something were blocking the signals.

Well, she told herself, at least that explained one thing. If outgoing signals were similarly blocked, that explained why no word had ever come back from the many probe ships that had entered this area. Didn’t explain why the ships never came back, but at least now she understood why no word had come back either.

Now I’m really alone, she told herself, smiling. This, after all, was why she’d volunteered to fly a probe ship in the first place. Still smiling, she set her course deeper into the mysterious expanse of Sector 27.

Three days later, approaching her first planet in the sector, Sarah was surprised to see what looked like a large satellite or small station in high orbit. Sensors showed no indication of power or life, and hails brought no answer. Puzzled, Sarah approached cautiously.

Whatever it was, it’s outer skin was composed of some material that prevented her scanners from penetrating. Only the curve of a docking port broke the smooth surface.

If it’s a station, Sarah thought, it can’t have more than three or four compartments, at that size. Still, it might contain information she could use. Carefully, she brought her ship closer, relaxing only when she had it locked and sealed securely to the object’s docking port.

As she climbed into her EVA suit, Sarah briefly considered the fact that the object’s docking port had been a perfect match for the one on her probe ship. That meant it almost had to be of human construction, since human docking technology hadn’t changed much since the first space going ships, thousands of years ago. The odds of it being alien in design were too long to be considered. It was definitely human, she decided, and therefore worth investigating.

Once suited up, Sarah carefully evacuated the atmosphere from her airlock, then cracked the hatch leading into the object. Even through her helmet, she could hear the whistle of air bleeding through the hatch. Despite no sign of power, the object was obviously pressurized. A quick check revealed the air to be breathable, and Sarah gratefully removed the bulky helmet. The rest of her EVA suit quickly followed, and Sarah stepped through the hatch wearing only her usual jumpsuit.

Once through the hatch, she paused, startled. The entire structure seemed composed of a single compartment. Large, square, the hatch through which she’d entered the only opening in the gleaming, reflective walls. And in the center…….

Stunned, Sarah slowly approached the nude woman who stood on a small platform in the middle of the chamber, her arms held out in welcome. Standing before the figure, Sarah’s widened eyes drank in the flawless beauty before her.

It must be some sort of shrine, she thought, staring into the eyes that looked straight ahead at nothing. But why? Why put something so beautiful up here where nobody could see it? Carefully, she reached up to touch the smooth perfection of one cheek, only to freeze as those eyes suddenly focused, turning their gaze onto her. Those perfect lips turned up in a smile, then parted.

“Welcome.” The voice was as perfect and as beautiful as the body from which it came. Frozen with shock, held by the gaze of those eyes, Sarah stood like a statue herself, only watching as the woman stepped lightly from the small platform on which she had stood, her nude body pressing against Sarah as she did so.

Still in shock, Sarah made no effort to resist as the woman’s arms closed around her, those perfect lips pressed lightly against her own. Indeed, something in her responded, parting her own lips to allow entry to the soft tongue that began probing her mouth, even as she felt hands exploring her body.

Sarah’s response to that kiss, that touch, surprised her with its intensity. Her own arms encircled the other woman, drawing her closer as the kiss deepened. When the woman drew back her head, Sarah’s only response was to moan her disappointment, a moan that was quickly cut off by the feel of the woman’s hands fumbling at her jumpsuit. Eagerly, Sarah’s hands leapt to the task, and soon her jumpsuit lay in a puddle on the floor.

Still smiling, the woman gently lowered Sarah to the floor, then lay herself atop the supine pilot’s body. With their bodies pressed together for their full length, she resumed the kiss.

As those lips touched hers again, Sarah’s whole body ignited in desire. Neither body moved so much as a muscle, except for the woman’s probing tongue, yet Sarah could feel the desire building in her, more intense than she had ever experienced before. Slowly it built, slowly, until, still without moving, her body exploded.

Sarah’s vision went blank from the force of her orgasm, her body going numb. It was as if her nerves were so overloaded by the force of her orgasm, they could handle nothing else. Eventually, the orgasm began to recede, allowing her to feel her tongue held in someone’s mouth, her body pressed against another. Slowly, her vision cleared, allowing her to see…

….herself, looking up with a serene smile. Stunned, Sarah’s mind struggled to puzzle out how she came to be lying atop herself. She struggled to speak, to ask, but found she had no voice. Indeed, once her tongue withdrew from the other’s mouth, she found it impossible to even part her lips. The rest of her body was equally unresponsive, allowing the other woman to roll her onto her back.

“Stand.” At the sound of her own voice, Sarah felt her body responding, rising to its feet. Standing there, she could see her reflection in the walls, somehow unsurprised to find herself wearing the perfect beauty that had originally stood in silence.

Now silent herself, Sarah could only watch as the other woman rose and began donning her jumpsuit. Strangely, Sarah felt a vague sense of disappointment as she watched the other body vanish beneath the clothing.

“How long has it been?” the other woman asked, adjusting the jumpsuit. “It seems forever, but you are here now. I will join my people, and you will await the next. Take your place.”

Obediently, Sarah’s new body stepped onto the platform, turning to face the hatch, arms open in welcome. Silently, she watched her body turn and leave the room, the hatch closing gently.

As the hatch closed, Sarah’s mind was suddenly flooded with images. She saw a ship orbiting a planet, saw people descend in shuttles. She saw those people return to the ship, subtly altered by something on the surface. She saw the station built, saw the first woman chosen to stand atop the platform. She saw the ship leave, moving deeper into the unknown expanse of the sector. She watched as woman after woman entered the chamber, each seduced as she had been, each watching silently as her own body left the chamber, leaving behind the silent perfection on the platform.

What lay on the planet’s surface, she wondered. What had changed those people, so long ago, and how? Soon, however, such thoughts were submerged in a sense of longing that came from she knew not where. It was the desire, the need, to find someone to take her place so that she could return to her people.

So that she could once again walk among The Wanderers.

02.08.11