"Whee!" Kolya leaped onto her bed, rolled over, and let out a long sigh. "I love learning new stuff, but cramming all those EVA lessons into a few hours kind of took its toll."

"No kidding." Donovan sat on the edge of the bed, groaned, and flopped over beside her. "But I got through it without embarrassing myself too much, so that's one in the ‘win' column."

She giggled and reached out to clasp his hand. "I keep telling you, you did just fine."

"Thanks. I guess I'll get the hang of it sooner or later." He smiled and intertwined his fingers between hers. "So, what do you think we'll find on the Vancouver?"

"Hard to say. There's still been no communication from it, last I heard. The crew might be alive, but there's a good chance we'll find nothing but corpses. Or maybe skeletons, if the ship's been lost long enough." She shrugged. "Maybe we'll find aliens who tried to salvage it, or ancient artifacts the crew picked up somewhere."

"As long as it's nothing that might kill us, I'll be happy enough."

"Can't argue with that. And even if we don't find any survivors, imagine what might be on the ship's flight recorder."

"Yeah. The crew logs, too. Plus whatever photos, video, and sensor data we might find. Depending on how those rifts work, if that's what happened to the Vancouver, it could've popped up in another galaxy. Maybe more than one."

"Now that would be cool. I can't wait." The downside of finding scans or images from another galaxy was that she'd never see those places in person without placing her brain in a cybernetic body unless there was a mind-boggling breakthrough in hyperdrive or life-extension technology -- or both. Still, thinking about it was one of the most fun things she could imagine herself doing without getting naked first.

There were other things to consider, as well. For one, the crew could discover something that would bring a significant payout, and if her cut was big enough to buy a cybernetic eye and have it installed by professionals …

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We might not find anything but an empty ship with nothing noteworthy in the logs. Still, prepare for the worst but hope for the best, right?

She scooted closer and snuggled against Donovan. He chuckled, slipped his arm around her shoulders, and turned his head to face her. They kissed and she raised her hand to let it rest on his chest.

"Hmm," he said softly, "I think I'm starting to regain my strength. Or maybe it's just all the blood leaving my head."

She laughed. "Either way, I like the direction this is going."

"Oh, so do I." He kissed her again, then sat up and pulled his shirt off.

Her heart fluttered as she shrugged out of her own shirt and then hopped off the bed so she could drop her pants. She fumbled with her bra for a few seconds and shook her head. "Gotta remember to buy a few that clasp in the front."

"Allow me." Donovan stood in front of her, reached behind her, and unfastened her bra.

"Thanks." She flung it over her shoulder and grinned before kissing him again. His lips moved slowly under her chin, down her neck, and over her chest. She closed her eyes and moaned softly as he continued his journey downward. He tugged on the waistband of her panties, clenched it in his teeth, and pulled them off slowly. She giggled and he grinned up at her. He let her panties fall around her ankles and moved his lips between her legs, and she gasped. His hands slid up her legs to her hips and then around to grasp her ass gently. A moment later, he glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose this would be a bad time to ask about the pitchfork wound?"

She burst out laughing, leaned over to look him in the eye, and gave him a quick kiss before standing up again. "First things first."