One last jolt hit the shuttle as it was secured to the floor of the alien ship's landing bay. Roger's ass bumped into his seat, then he floated back up until his seatbelt pulled taut against his shoulders.

Kamala grabbed the edge of her console, still floating above her seat and holding his right hand between both of her left hands.

He gave the back of her upper hand a reassuring pat and leaned forward to try to see something outside the front windows. He gave up a few seconds later. There was nothing outside but utter blackness.

He struggled for a moment to think of something to say. "Well … uh … so … you think we'll meet any aliens?"

"Huh?" She turned to him and her face took on that expression she always had when she needed to shift her mental gears unexpectedly. "Oh! Well, I'd say I hope so, except whoever just yanked us out of space didn't exactly make a good first impression."

"Yeah, abducting us was definitely a dick move." He reached for his seatbelt buckle. "Still, if we're lucky, we'll at least find Luana and Morrison here."

"Yeah, there's that to hope for."

Suddenly, the whole world seemed to press down on him, slamming him back onto his chair. In the corner of his eye, Kamala dropped like a brick, the headrest of her chair ramming into her gut. She rolled off, hit the floor, and coiled up, clutching at her midsection and writhing in pain.

"Kamala!" Roger's heart pounded and he fumbled with the buckle. He finally got it to release and heaved himself off his chair. He fell to his knees beside her and reached out, then hesitated, unsure what he should do.

She opened her mouth, trying to breathe, but her diaphragm had been paralyzed by the impact with her chair. She propped herself up on her right arms and reached for him.

"Easy, there, you're gonna be okay." He put his arms around her and held her gently. "Come on, honey, breathe." He rubbed her back slowly, wishing there was more he could do.

After what felt like a lifetime, she finally sucked in a breath and grunted. She pulled him closer, rested her chin on his shoulder, and sobbed.

"Ow," she finally managed to whimper.

He kissed her cheek and pulled back far enough to see her face. He wiped away the tears streaming from her eyes and smiled. "You gonna be okay?"

"I … don't know." She held her lower-left hand against her belly and took a few cautious, ragged breaths. "Fuck. What the hell happened? Suddenly, we have gravity."

"It just, well, came on. Like somebody flipped a switch." He stared out the windows. "Feels a bit higher than one G."

"Huh. Gravity without rotating centrifuges. We're definitely in over our heads." She winced and raised herself off the floor. "I wonder if there's an atmosphere out there -- and if there is, can we breathe it?"

Roger leaned over his seat, looked at the control panel, and shook his head. "Power's still cut off." He nodded at the softly glowing strips lining the ceiling of the passenger compartment, which provided barely enough light to see. "Looks like all we've got is the emergency lights."

"Yeah, and from the look of them, they're chemical lamps. The power failure probably triggered the reaction." Kamala swept her palms around on the floor, found her ultratool, and picked it up. "Can't analyze the air with this unless I'm already out in it."

Roger rubbed his hands over his face. "Well, maybe we should just wait here. Whoever shanghaied us will probably be knocking on our door sooner or later."

"I'm not gonna play their game. Besides, I'm curious." She slithered over to the lockers next to the rear hatch. "Well, at least this thing's got a couple of spacesuits. Except they're built for humans, not giant snake-people with four arms."

Roger turned back to the cockpit. "Well, there should be a breather pack under the console."

"Oh! Right!" She zipped up front and felt around under the control panel, grinned and popped up with a mask and O2 tank. "Well, if you'd rather wait while I take a look around …"

"No, I'd worry myself sick if you went out there alone." He opened the locker and grabbed one of the spacesuits.

"Really?" She stared wide-eyed at him.

"Yeah." He smiled, walked over to her, and kissed her. "I love you."

Her mouth flopped open. When she regained her composure, she said, "So, you're not just saying that because you think we won't ever see our friends or our home again?"

He shook his head and held her lower hands. "I said it because it's true." He hadn't been able to say it before, but the sudden scare he'd received when she was hurt a few moments ago had certainly driven it home for him.

She stared for a few more seconds, beamed suddenly, threw her arms around him and kissed him. When they finally came up for air, she rested her forehead against his for a moment before backing away. She put her breather mask on and pointed a talon at him.

"No wisecracks about getting my mask on completely, damn it." She laughed softly and he grinned.

"Okay, I'll ease up on the ribbing." He winked. "This time."

She gave his ass a squeeze before he was out of reach. He chuckled and put the spacesuit on. It was far less bulky than the ones he'd worn back home. Rather sleek, actually, despite the large O2 pack on its back.

"Sexy." Kamala grinned and licked her lips.

"You're looking pretty fine, yourself." He tossed her a shit-eating grin. "You might want to put on something besides the breather, though."

"Huh?" She glanced down at herself and gasped, apparently just now realizing that she hadn't put her clothes back on after they made love. "Uh, yeah, hold on a sec."

He picked up his helmet, held it under his left arm, leaned against the wall and aimed one of his brilliant smiles at her. "Take your time. I'll just stand here and enjoy the view."

She blushed and her ultratool slipped out of her hand. She fumbled but caught it before it hit the floor, sighed, and glanced around for her double sports bra and denim skirt. "Sometimes, I don't have my head screwed on straight at all. Potential first-contact situation on our hands, and here I am, about to go waving my pussy around."

Roger snickered and doubled over. When he stopped laughing, he took a deep breath and shook his head. "That's one way to break the ice, I guess."

Her blush darkened, but she laughed along with him.

"I wouldn't mind that at all," he continued, "but for all we know, the aliens on this ship might not even know what a vagina is." He frowned. "Which might just be the most depressing thought I've ever had."

"Well, we'll hope for the best." Kamala found her skirt, slipped it on, and picked up her toolbelt. Then she kept glancing around.

Roger pointed. "Under the bench."

"Ah, thanks." Kamala leaned over, grabbed her sports bra, and put it on. "Okay. Let's go find us some aliens."