Alan woke to soft purrs of sound--both from the ventilation system, and from the warm, female body beside him. The clock display in the far wall told him it was only halfway through his sleep period.
Something was different about the ship.
He unbuckled the restraining strap and pushed off the bed. Unexpectedly, he settled back onto the mattress. Suddenly he knew what had awakened him.
Gravity.
It was subtle, perhaps a twentieth of a gee, but compared to none at all for the past three weeks, he was surprised he hadn't noticed immediately. He glanced fleetingly at the woman next to him, smelled her pleasant, afterglow musk, and slipped from the bed without waking her.
A few doors down, he entered the navigation center, and found technician Kuei and navigator Tarla crouched awkwardly among a pile of charred and/or disassembled consoles, picking up a bank of relays. Everything had settled chaotically to the floor under the return of gravity. Both women, slim beauties with pale green skin and dark green hair, were naked except for utility belts. Perspiration, grease, and weariness marked their faces.
"Hi, Alan," Tarla warbled. She seemed barely able to speak. Kuei nodded sleepily as she checked her jury-rigged motion sensors. Wiping a bit of grime from her face, she said, "It's only a push, but it's something. I didn't want to give us any more spin with the ship in the shape it's in." As she spoke, she unplugged the computer interface from the socket in the back of her neck.
"We'll get to the climate control next," Tarla promised.
Alan didn't mind the tropical conditions so much now that his genitals no longer floated in strange, disconcerting patterns. The women had proper breasts again, rather than things that waved in front of them like water balloons.
"That's all right," he said sincerely. "You're doing a fine job."
They brightened at the compliment, and left what they were doing. He knew he was in trouble. Their aphrodisiac fragrance wafted over him, laying claim. Kuei kneeled down in front of him, while Tarla waited her turn, her hunger so intense it was almost frightening. Alan reconciled himself; it would be a while before he got back to sleep.
)
