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Mercury; the smallest of the planets of the solar system, closest to the sun and the most boring. Those were the facts that Ensign Joshua Harton had been aware of when he had been given an assignment at Mercury Station E12. It was not a name that inspired confidence, it inspired mental images of administrative processes and endless discussions on docking procedures. The posting certainly was far from the assignment to the bridge of a warship that the human officer had hoped to get.

Five years at the academy, studying, working, sweating and even fighting, and his first posting was to a military station that did little more than monitor civilian traffic. In the two years he had served there the second most exciting incident had been when a smuggler had accidentally let a flock of quail loose in the docking bay. The first and most exciting incident had happened that same day when one of the escapee quails had gotten onto the station's bridge and unseen to anyone but Josh, it pooped in the station commander's coffee.

It had been a great day, just dozens of trained men chasing down birds. While Josh watched that coffee like a hawk and got to laugh to himself as the commander took a mouthful. Josh suspected the station’s commander, Captain Donald Heath, also would rather be serving on the bridge of a warship. The man certainly seemed tightly wound. Every day he was one bad event away from snapping. As someone who had been on the receiving end of more than one of his frequent snaps, Josh relished the memory of watching the Captain drink bird shit and even more so the look on the Captain’s face when he realised and had to decide between spitting and letting the entire bridge know or swallowing. It was a gulp that the young Ensign relished on the days he was given docking bay duty and had to spend hours just watching other people counting inventory as it unloaded.

Three requests for transfer to active ship duty had been refused. No current assignments were available. Or so the Captain claimed. Josh suspected the miserable shit never submitted the requests. Though actually stating such out loud would have seen him up on charges of rank insubordination. His posting would be up in another two years, if he was assigned to another station it had better be somewhere more exciting than Mercury.

Mercury was nothing but an industrial hub really. The planet was too hot during its day and too cold during the night for anyone to live there properly. Each day lasted almost the same as a Mercurian year. However, there were a lot of metals down there, metals that were desperately needed by almost every faction in the solar system. Plus so close to the sun it was easy to harvest solar power to process that metal, and a lot of other things too. The planet’s surface was dotted with small slow-moving mines. They kept themselves just around the twilight horizon. Where the temperature was not too high and not too low. Harvesting whatever they found as they rolled. It could be very profitable if you got lucky. Hit a rich spot and you only had a limited time to fill your storage bays and call for a transport to get the payload to some processing station.

Money and remoteness had drawn pirates. So the Earth military had established a permanent base. With two Destroyers on assignment. That had been a decade ago, and the pirates had backed off. They were now hitting transports much further out in the system. Mercury Station E12 had seen whatever action it was likely to ever see long before Josh reached her.

“Junior Officers report to the officers' mess immediately!”. The wording barked out of a speaker in his quarters and the human groaned.

“Oh fuck this,” he muttered, particularly bitter as he looked at the time. He had only hit his bunk an hour earlier. “God please be some more rogue livestock.” He mumbled to himself as he rose and quickly pulled on his uniform. Feeling slightly dirty as he had no time to shower or brush his teeth, he left his quarters. Captain Heath would expect everyone to drop whatever they were doing and make haste to the mess.

As he strode through the corridors he caught up with Aura Tovar, another junior bridge officer. She and Josh arrived at the same time and the woman had quickly become one of his best friends. She was the only other person who knew their captain had drunk some bird shit. “Hey, Josh, you know what this is about?” She asked as she spotted him. Aura was dressed in a jumpsuit that let him know she had just rushed up from docking bay duty. An officer was required in the bay at all times. The station was owned by the military, but most of the engineers and techs were civilian staff. Nearly eighty per cent of the traffic that docked were civilian transports. Wearing your dress uniform in the docks was a mistake you only make once. Most of the cargo moving on and off ships was metal ores and that meant the docking bay was filthy.

“Not a clue,” Josh replied. “Maybe it’s Heath’s birthday and he wants to give us all a slice of cake.”

“Ha! Or maybe he finally found someone desperate enough and got laid for the first time this decade,” laughed Aura in response. “Or he found a speck of dust on the bridge.”

Josh winced at that last one, he remembered what happened last time Heath had gotten angry about the cleanliness of the bridge. “Just what we need, I don’t want to have to requisition a new toothbrush, it took a week last time.”

“Let’s just hope he finally found someone willing to end his decades-long dry spell and is going to chill out,” the female ensign replied with a shrug.

“Oh god no! I have not had enough sleep or narcotics to cope with that mental image, thanks,” grumbled Josh as the pair arrived at the mess. The other junior officers had clearly been both awake and closer than the pair as they were already sitting around the tables. While Captain Heath stood, glaring at the latecomers.

The captain was a gangly man, to Josh he always had a far too high leg-to-torso ratio. Matchstick thin, with buzzcut hair and a cleanly shaven face. “Ah, Harton and Tovar, finally decided to join us.”

“Sorry, Sir,” they both replied, taking a seat. They both knew there was no point trying to argue that they had gotten there with all reasonable speed. It would have taken a missile strike to Heath’s head to break any reasonableness into his consciousness. It was better to just apologise and move on, you can not win a battle of words with your commanding officer. Or more accurately you could, but you would still be the one who ended up cleaning the bridge with your toothbrush. Better to hold your tongue and find some small way to get revenge later.

“Now that everyone is here,” Captain Heath started, giving a pointed glance in the direction of Josh and Aura. “I have just been informed of a special duty and an honour that has been bestowed on this station. I might say that anyone who knows the history and mythology of the planet we orbit and the Roman god it was named after, will know how fitting it is that this duty has been assigned here.” The captain looked around the room and Josh knew he was looking to see who was looking confused so he could feel superior.

“In twelve hours two ships will be docking and a total of twelve guests will be disembarking to our care,” the Captain was still looking around and Josh got the feeling that the old man expected them to be excited. Having a bunch of VIPs visit was not something he looked forward to. Especially as he knew the captain was about to go crazy on ensuring the station was at its very best. The young man knew he was unlikely to see his bed again for the next twelve hours or more. “During their stay, all traffic will be routed away from the station. No ships, military or civilian will be permitted to dock under any circumstances.” A susurration of whispers echoed around the room. High-ranking guests were rare, but a halt to all traffic was unheard of. Josh spotted the satisfied smile on the captain’s face, clearly, he was enjoying this.

No doubt this was something big; big enough that the captain thought it would be good for his career. The human sat up straight suddenly thinking that it might be good for him too. Maybe good enough to get him away from his dead-end assignment and get him onto the bridge of a ship.

“As of five minutes ago, all comm traffic to and from this station is limited to priority military traffic only.” Another huge bombshell. That they were being told after it had been put into effect meant the brass did not want anybody sending out messages about what was happening until after it had happened. “Six of the guests are high-ranking military and government officials from the Mars Provisional Government. The other six are high-ranking military and government officials from the rogue Free Mars State.” This time there was not a susurration, but a chorus of surprised gasps followed by questions.

For fifty years the apes of Mars had been in a civil war. The Mars Provisional Government was supported by the Combined Earth Government; which had used genetic engineering to create the apes as a workforce to terraform the red planet. Josh knew the history; Earth had offered to share Mars with the apes and many apes had taken them up on that offer. While a breakaway faction had declared that Mars belonged to the race whose blood, sweat and tears had been used to terraform it. Thus the Mars Free State had been born and the resulting civil war so far had lasted over fifty-seven years.

There had been a cease-fire recently and the only reason Josh could think of for this meeting was to formally begin peace negotiations. The Captain's reference to the Roman god Mercurius made sense now; Mercury was both messenger and mediator of the gods. He wondered why they were going to such lengths. Probably something about near-neutral grounds, or maybe a security issue. A meeting like this would be a target for anyone looking to disrupt the peace process. After so long with their paws at each other’s throats it was hardly surprising that the idea of peace with their mortal enemy did not sit well with everyone.

“I can see you have already guessed the reason for this meeting. I will not insult your intelligence by denying it. Yes, while there have been a few unofficial meetings and a general cease-fire has been agreed upon. This will be the first on the record peace negotiation.” The gangly Captain seemed to stretch a little taller as he added, “We have just become part of history ladies and gentlemen. Which means, for the duration of these negotiations your, and my, every move will be analysed under a fucking electron microscope. There is no room for errors, sloppy actions or mistakes. I expect each and every one of you to give me better than your best, I expect you to be the exemplars of the Earth Navy, the best of the best, the very fucking cream. Understood?!”

“YES, SIR!” Those words boomed around the office. Even Josh found himself on his feet shouting like he had not done since his basic training.

“You were all sent here because some arsehole in the academy thought you were not the cream,” the Captain's words were like a bullet hitting the balloon of their inflated egos. “Well, this week you get the chance to show those very arseholes exactly how wrong they were. You get the chance to show the brass just how they are wasting your talents in this sodding kip of an assignment. Understood?!”

“YES, SIR!”

“Good, I know that you will do me and the Navy proud. Now we have twelve hours to turn the station upside down. I need the docking bays scrubbed, we need a conference room set up. We need to turn the abandoned upper levels into at least twelve suites for our guests to stay in. We need to reroute and reschedule every ship for the next week, and a thousand other tasks we have not even thought of. Also, the negotiators are all not allowed their own support staff. Each of you will be allocated to support one member of the team. During their stay, you will follow every order or request they give to the very best of your abilities. You will be at their beck and call from the second they step foot on the station until their ships disembark. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir,” being someone's bitch boy for a week was far less exciting.

“Which means you will also have full, unfiltered access to stores and priority requisitions,” every officer in the room quickly put on their best poker face. They all knew exactly what that meant, they could request anything and everything they wanted, no authorisation or even a reason needed. It was a hell of a perk, that any smart officer would be able to find some advantages. “You will make sure our guests are more comfortable here than in any expensive five-star hotel on Earth, is that understood?”

“YES, SIR!!” Josh’s throat hurt from yelling that loudly. In his head, he could already think of a dozen items he could request that might make his life more comfortable that he could subsequently snaffle into his own private quarters. Chocolates, alcohol, bedsheets, fresh fruit, and toilet paper that was not like sandpaper! This was not why he had joined the military, but he would be damned if he was not going to enjoy those perks.

“You each have been sent details of your assignment to your personal comms. Read up, I expect you to know your guest better than they know themselves by the time they dock.” Captain Heath announced and every officer in the room grabbed their comm device. “Now we have eleven hours, forty-seven minutes until our first guests dock. The clock is running, the other officers have already been briefed and will be organising the civilian side, and unlimited overtime can work wonders. Check your comms and I am sure you will all have your duties piling up. Good luck, and get it done. Dismissed!”

For just a heartbeat the group froze and then everyone broke away. Jogging out one of the three doors to the mess. Each and everyone opened up the holo screens on their comms. Josh included, Heath was right he already had a dozen tasks from Lieutenant Tanner, his direct superior. However, before he opened the first of them he opened up the one from the captain marked top secret. A little thrill ran down his spine to see that designation. He had seen that marking many times when working communications duty. However, this time it was for him and he got to open it.

There was a lot of text from Captain Heath, but he skipped reading it to open the personnel file of the dignitary he had been assigned. Sergeant Keith Stone, a Free Mars State non-commissioned officer. Josh stopped in his tracks as he realised two things, first, he had been assigned to work for the opposition. Technically Earth Gov was not part of the war, but everyone knew they were heavily funding the Mars Provisional Government. Second, and by far the most surprising realisation, the ape was a sergeant and he would technically outrank his report.

Josh had expected a general, or a senator, or something high ranking. Maybe an admiral, or at least a captain or something. Why would the apes have put forward a non-com to the most important peace negotiations in over half a century? Maybe the Mars Free State did not trust that their people would be safe and were not sending their best. Maybe it was some sort of political insult.

“Who’d you get?” Aura asked, surprising the young man from his thoughts.

He paused, technically the comm was marked top secret. Though it almost certainly did not apply to the other officers included in the assignment. “A Free Mars Sergeant, you?”

“A General Caruthers, Mars Provisional Government,” Aura replied and she was unable to hide the excitement in her voice. Caruthers was a well-known name and a powerful voice in the MPG military. Definitely far above a sergeant. “We’d better get moving, next half a day is going to be a killer.”

“But a sergeant?” Josh asked, giving Aura a confused look.

“Hey, it makes things easy right. You can order him to have a good time,” chuckled Aura as she started to move. “Don’t think about it too much. Ours is not to reason why, ours is just to do and to requisition all the swanky shit you can think of!”

“Ha! Good clear thinking,” acknowledged Josh, giving his friend a nod of approval.

“I know, and that’s why I will make captain in record time,” replied Aura, their laughter was cut short by both their comms going off at once. “If I survive today that is.” She added and they both rushed off.

The next twelve hours could generously be described as organised chaos. Or accurately as simply utter chaos. Dozens of naval officers trying to achieve a hundred different tasks, often in conflict. With no time to think or plan, they achieved such brilliant results as furnishing the hastily-created conference room only to have to hastily unfurnish it so the civilian workers could clean and decorate the former storage area.

One stroke of luck was that the station had originally been built as a civilian waystation with a small hotel built on the top. The hotel had gone bankrupt before the military bought the station up. While a trip to Mercury sounded exotic, there was not that much to do. It was a long way to go for a view that was pretty if viewed through glass appropriately screened to avoid burning out retinas. But once seen guests had been left asking ‘What now?’ The answer had been not much and it had been the death knell of that business.

The area had been sealed off and a military mind had clearly been behind the decision, not wanting their officers to get soft with plush living. Josh thought as he and a tech worked on the lift controls to add buttons that would allow it to reach those empty levels. They both had emergency helmets on, just in case. However, when they got the buttons installed and working they quickly found out they were unnecessary.

The elevator doors opened to a large opulent foyer. A carpet which was only slightly dusty but was clearly expensive. Josh stepped onto it and tried to remember the last time he had stood on anything other than regulation metal tiles. Lights were not needed as the foyer was surrounded entirely by a glass dome. Sunlight filtered in from every angle, glinting off crystal artwork and sculptures. A strange sound hit his ears and it took him a moment to remember what it was, the sound of running water. There was a small fountain right in the middle of the foyer and sat in the middle of the fountain was another crystal sculpture of a man in a dramatic pose. At the base was a small sign which gave his name as the God Mercury himself. Turning to the tech he muttered, “Two years and I never even knew this place existed.”

The engineer shrugged, “probably power costs. Large open spaces take up a lot of life support. Those windows may be pretty but keeping this room warm with them there draws some serious power.” Josh had to admit that did make sense. “When the station was built it was factored in, but they didn't need all the defence systems; gun batteries and shield boosters are power-thirsty bitches.”

“Are we going to be ok to keep this place running?” The ensign asked a little worried. If the quarters of their precious VIPs died midweek it could be the beginning of an interplanetary incident of near-unprecedented proportions.

“Yeah, no problem, we upgraded the solar stacks like five years back. We produce three times what we used to.” Confirmed the engineer. “I’d best get to checking the life support systems, just to be sure. They seem to be working fine, but it’s been a long time since their last service and some tech gets a bit grumpy when left off for a long time and then turned on.”

“You do that, I’m going to check out the rooms. Hopefully, they are like this one, just needing a bit of a dust and maybe some fresh sheets,” Josh replied, running a finger along a crystal statue of a bear. It was not too deep in dust. That was hardly a surprise as dust mostly came from life or activity and this place had been sealed off from such for over a decade.

“Can’t say I think much of the decor,” grumbled the tech. “A bit too much glitz and not enough substance, if you ask me.”

“It’s far better than cutting a wall between two storage sheds and painting the walls military grey…”

“Ocean grey,” cut in the tech with a shrug. “Not sure what the difference is, but that’s the colour on the containers.”

“Whatever shade of grey, this is better. Though yeah, if I had time I would have some of these sculptures removed. I wonder why they left them. You’d have thought someone would buy them,” he observed as they made their way to the reception desk in the centre of the large room.

“Interplanetary shipping would probably cost more than they are worth. Cheaper just to leave them or just shove them out an airlock,” replied the tech as he pulled open a panel on the wall next to the desk.

Josh hopped over the desk and into a small circular room beyond. Clearly some sort of office, a series of computer terminals all turned off and a door leading out the other side to a large bar. This side of the room had plenty of plush comfortable seats and tables. “And we get hard cheap plastic chairs in the mess.” He grumbled and then he looked along the bar. Clearly, it had been fully stocked once. Though he noticed every last bottle holder was empty. They would be able to refill some of them from the station's stocks. It would probably turn out to be a nice place to hold a drinks reception.

“Ok, I got the internal lift working. I’m going to the kitchen level, to see if it’s still usable.” A voice shouted from through the reception room.

“Fine, I’ll check out the rooms and then report. I’ll request a cleaning crew to give this place a good cleaning.” He replied, thinking that this place would save a lot of time. Josh opened up his comms to message his lieutenant, letting him know the place was fully operational if not stocked. As he did the sun rose from behind the small planet. The edge of the sun on the planetary horizon made the mountains look like they were on fire. For a moment he paused and just watched the glory and beauty. Then, much like the hotel guests of old, he turned to find something else to do.

However, as he turned something glinted in the new light and he stepped along the bar and ducked down to look at the shelf. A bottle, an actual glass bottle was sitting there. There was a thin film of dust coating its surface. Clear glass and very full. Josh grabbed the bottle and pulled it out and his eyes went wide. “McPhial’s thirty-year single malt.” He read out and whistled. He was not much of a whisky drinker, but he knew that some bottles were expensive. Five-star places often charged thousands per bottle. He wondered how it had gotten missed when everything else was looted. However, it did not matter because he had it there and then. The day was looking brighter than ever and not just because the sun was now fully lighting up the room.

Moving quickly back to the lift, the ensign noted how the crystal decorations caught the sunlight and filled the room with rainbows. Impressive, but also a bit too glitzy and tacky for his tastes. He called the lift and ascended to the first of two floors with guest rooms. Once more he found himself in a circular foyer area. This time with no windows, though a few dusty plush sofas. Around the outside were a series of doors, each with a number from one to ten. Clearly the guest rooms. Ten rooms per floor, two floors. They could house both delegations on separate floors, with room to spare.

Approaching the first room, he keyed in his access code, but the door remained shut. Opening up his comm he activated a voice connection to the tech he had arrived with, “Hey, Rollins I’m up in the guest area, but I can’t access the rooms, they don’t acknowledge my codes.”

“Hotel’s systems are separate from the station's computers. Give me a moment and I’ll get you a utility code. We can get a link up later, no problem. Kitchens are good, and there’s fully stocked cupboards with cleaning stuff and toiletries. I wouldn’t trust anything edible, but the soaps and toilet paper are probably fine.” Josh acknowledged the report and waited. A few minutes later Rollin’s sent him an access code.

The rooms were just as garishly decorated and plushly furnished as the foyer was. Each one had two bedrooms with a double bed and ensuite, as well as a large living room area. They also came with their own small cooking area and bar. A glance in the refrigeration unit turned up mostly empty, save a few packets of nuts that were a decade out of date and some sachets of tea and coffee. Turning on the taps he was surprised to find they worked. “Must have left them plummed in when they sealed up the rest.” He muttered to himself. Placed along the window had been a series of exotic plants, now just dead and dried stems. Josh pulled a brown leaf from one and it turned to dust in his hands.

“Mr Harton! I would appreciate a report on the situation up there,” the voice jumped him from his daze and the magic of exploring some long abandoned building was ruined by the barking voice of his captain.

“Captain Heath, it’s looking good. I just need to quickly check the top floor. However, we have twenty double rooms, fully furnished and in pretty good nick. Just need a dusting and some new sheets. Rollin’s let me know the kitchen is fully functional and there’s a nice bar area and communal area on the first floor.” He reported quickly. “There are some cleaning supplies and some rather out-of-date food and drink that I would suggest spacing.”

“Drink? What sort of drink?” The captain’s voice asked and Josh’s eyes moved to the bottle of amber liquid nestled in his arms.

“Just old dried coffee, tea and some soda that is a good decade or more beyond usable. Looks like everything else was taken,” he replied, feeling a little guilty for telling a slight lie. However, if he mentioned the bottle he was sure the captain would order him to hand it over. One bottle was not really relevant anyway. It was an anomaly and therefore not worth mentioning.

“Probably the old crew drank everything worth a damn before sealing it up,” the Captain replied. “We can bring some stuff up from the station’s stocks. I am authorising a shuttle run for supplies if you want anything specific for your report you will need to request it within an hour.”

Josh knew he had not even looked at the file about Sergeant Stone since that brief glimpse hours ago. “Ok, Sir. I would suggest we split the delegates; MPG on one floor, and FMS on the other. There are four spare rooms for their reports. Plenty of room for people to share. Otherwise, it’s a long way back and forth to the rest of the station.”

“Agreed, Mr Harton I trust you to handle the quarter assignments. I suggest putting the Free Mars State on the top floor. Better view and we want to show that we are not favouring the Mars

Provisional Government delegation.” The Captain replied quickly.

“We really lucked out having this place on top, Sir. I know it was closed down for power conservation, but Tech Rollins says that our solar generators have been significantly upgraded since then. Recommend we consider keeping it open. Maybe a new officers' mess, it certainly would not hurt morale.” Josh paused short of suggesting they assign the guest quarters as new officers' quarters as he suspected that would be going too far too fast. Besides, that might be impractical. Getting to Battlestations would be very slow going from these plush quarters. Though they might be turned into recreational areas or something productive.

“Thank you, Mr Harton, I’ll take that under advisement,” the captain replied, but from his tone, Josh suspected that once the peace conference was over and they had plundered everything usable, the area would be resealed up. At least they would get some decent bed sheets, towels and toilet roll out of the deal.

Assigning the rooms was quite easy. One guest per room, and the rest split between the ensigns supporting them. Most would have to share, but a lucky four could have an entire suite to themselves. Josh decided that he and Aura should be two of the lucky four. The universe it seemed was trying to make up for two years of tedium with a deluge of opportunities. Josh felt the nerves in the back of his neck tingle just a little. Things were going way too well, he was sure some bad news would be coming down the line soon.

He knew he had a limited time to put his requisitions in. That was something he was not going to miss. Josh sat down on a dusty, but rather nice chair in one of the rooms and opened his comms. Selecting the file on Sergeant Stone he did a little reading. A gorilla, age fifty-eight. In the Free Mars State military since he was eighteen. The ape had been at war his entire adult life. There was a long list of engagements as well as dozens of commendations and medals in his records. Clearly Stone was a war hero. Thirty years of service during the war, so many battles. No doubt the ape had lost many of his friends and comrades, lost to apes using weapons Earth was providing.

Now he knew what the universe was trying to make up for. A non-commissioned officer with a chip on his shoulders, one who would have power over a young human officer. Power that he might use or abuse as some form of revenge for a life of combat and loss. Most likely it would be impossible to please the ape and he might get a negative report.

Trying to fend off the sense of dread, Josh opened up the requisition form and started adding items. Fresh fruit, fine chocolate, some ales he was particularly fond of, a selection of ciders too, along with a bottle of expensive champagne and another bottle or two of expensive red wine. Josh figured that a lot of sweet treats and some expensive booze would keep even the orneriest of apes mollified. Plus he ordered a little extra for himself, he would need to test them after all. What if they were faulty, or poisoned? It was his duty, his delicious duty.

Hearing the sound of the clean-up crew arriving on the floor he hit send on the order and then glanced at the bottle of whisky. With the station so busy it was doubtful he could get it back to his quarters without someone spotting the rare treasure. Josh fully intended to share, unless the bottle turned out to be worth a lot, in which case he would keep hold of it and sell it once he got back to Earth.

The clean-up crew would no doubt clean through every cupboard and behind and under every bit of furniture. Josh’s eyes moved to a nearby air vent. The room was not his, he had assigned it to Sergeant Stone, but he would certainly be able to sneak in later and get the bottle back. It was the work of a few seconds to unscrew the panel and he pushed his bottle into the vent up to his shoulder. Just in case anyone decided to dust or look inside for any reason.

A few hours later there was a stampede of ensigns when the supply shuttle docked. Josh returned to the now-cleaned suite that Sergeant Stone would be staying in, arms laden with edible delights. With less than an hour before the delegates were due he rushed around the room. The crew had cleaned the room and replaced all the linens. However, they had not tried to organise anything. Josh noted with annoyance, the plant pots had their dead plants removed but were now just strange pots half filled with dead soil.

It was too late to fix, and there were too many to move. They would just have to stay, at least the pots themselves were decorative. He found a large bowl and arranged some of the fruits he had ordered into a sort of display. Unsurprisingly fruit bowl arrangement had not been a class at the academy, so mostly the fruit was piled large ones on the bottom, smaller ones on top, with a full pineapple in the centre.

A box of chocolates was placed beside it, a second box he planned to take to his own suite just in case a restock was needed. Plus a third box which naturally was his to sample, just to be sure they were acceptable. The champagne was placed in the refrigerator unit along with some other fine foods. A selection of meats, cheeses and olives, and some baked goods. One he was certain of, the ape would not go hungry. Assuming it wasn’t vegan, lactose intolerant or allergic to Earth fruits, nuts or berries. The ape’s file had been shockingly lacking in dietary requirements or preferences.

He placed a small bar of fine dark chocolate on the ape’s pillow, as a final touch and then had a whole ten minutes to stow all of the rest of the stuff he had plundered for his own personal use, in his own suite. Josh dashed down to his old room as his comm sounded an alert that the shuttle was approaching docking. Twenty-four hours of duty and just a single hour of sleep. The human was practically still clothed as he jumped into a shower, desperate to wash the sweat and grime off, before donning his dress uniform.

Dress uniform was made with appearance over comfort in mind. It certainly was not comfortable to jog in. However, Josh arrived at the shuttle airlock at a dead sprint. Captain Heath was there, along with five other ensigns and three lieutenants. A suitable honour guard to welcome the six guests from Mars. The Mars Provisional Government shuttle was to dock second. Given the small side of the area outside the shuttle docking bay, the other ensigns would turn up after the first six guests were escorted away.

Josh struggled to stand to attention, the adrenalin of his run had worn off and his body was aching with the fatigue of so much activity on so little sleep. The sound of the airlock cycling the air woke him just enough that he remembered to pull himself to full attention and saluted on command as the delegates strode in. Three ape generals, two chimps and one gorilla, were easy to spot their uniforms were ornate and slightly pompous. Just like Earth's high-ranking dress uniforms. Each one had a ceremonial sword. Two orangutans in smart business attire, clearly politicians though Josh had not had a chance to read up about the other delegates. They were not his charge and therefore not his concern.

Last to disembark was a hulking beast of a male. He towered over the other delegates, his dark red fur heavily streaked with grey. Dressed in a much simpler infantryman’s dress uniform, which oddly had no sword or any ceremonial weapons. The white uniform was stretched to capacity over the ape’s broad chest and broad stomach. Dozens of coloured ribbons and medals lined his left chest.

While the other delegates' faces held polite but neutral expressions, the huge gorilla had a cheeky smile on his face and a little bit of a glint in his eye. Josh was surprised to see it, he was sure after thirty years of hard-fought battles he would not be so cheerful when meeting with his enemy. While the other delegates clustered around the captain, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. The gorilla held back and glanced around the room. For a moment Josh found himself in direct eye contact with the male. His eyes were a sparkling light purple or amethyst colour. Sergeant Stone clearly knew he was staring at him as he gave a friendly nod before those eyes moved on. Checking out every man, and exit. Before returning to the captain just in time to shake hands.

One by one the ensigns were introduced to their new charges. Josh noted that he was last, or rather the Sergeant was last.

“Sergeant, please may I introduce you to Ensign Josh Harton. He will be at your service twenty-four hours a day during your stay,” Captain Heath’s words cut through the young ensign’s thoughts. He gave the gorilla a snappy salute.

“Pleasure to be of service, Sir!” The human replied.

“Just Sarge will be fine. Or Stone if you like. I’m not an officer, lad, I work for a living,” the ape replied. His voice was deep and slightly husky. Though the ape did pull himself to attention, an act that made his head almost touch the ceiling of the corridor, and he gave a sharp salute in return.

“Yes, Sir…Sarge. I’ll just grab your bags and then show you to your room,” Josh replied, finding himself liking the ape. Stone certainly gave an amiable first impression.

“I can carry my own bags, lad. Have done it for a long time now and honestly, I get antsy when someone else handles my kit bag,” Stone replied with a friendly wink. “Though I will happily follow you anywhere.”

“Sergeant, we are holding a small event this evening, some social drinks and some nibbles for all delegates and command staff in three hours. Attendance is not mandatory,” Captain Heath cut in. “However, the next shuttle is due to dock, and this place is about to become crowded again.”

“Aye, and an ape my size makes any place extra crowded,” chuckled the ape.

“I apologise, that was not my meaning…” Heath stammered in response.

“It’s alright, Sir. I know your meaning. I look forward to drinks and nibbles,” Stone responded, still chuckling. The ape grabbed a dirty, and rather scraggy bag and slung it over his broad shoulder. “Come on, lad, show me the way!”

Josh exchanged a brief glance and nod with his captain. The gangly human was clearly glad to be rid of the ape. Captain Heath clearly thought that now was not the time for humour. Though knowing the man, Josh suspected the man also thought that when visiting a comedy club. “This way, Sarge.”

As soon as they were out of earshot of the Captain the ape let out another chuckle, “Your Captain is a bit of a dour man, he could use a good massage, some relaxation time or possibly just a nice hard fuck.”

Josh coughed so hard he almost choked at the sudden and unwanted mental image that was created. A huge hand slapped his back firmly and he took a sharp gasp.

“I hope ya ain’t some joyless jobsworth, lad. A plush assignment like this one, I was hoping to have a few laughs,” Stone said as they hit the first lift. “Though the company on the shuttle was a little… hmmm uncomfortable. Generals and politicians, they only get on with each other. An old ground pounder like myself… well it’s not like we had much in common.”

“I can imagine,” Josh replied, hurriedly adding, “Sarge.”

“Relax lad, I’m not gonna start yelling at you like you are a raw cadet,” chuckled the gorilla.

“Sorry, Sarge. I’ll try,” Josh replied. While the lift shut up a dozen or so decks.

“They wanted a soldier to represent the rest of the men,” Stone said and gave him a look. “I could see you wondering, and everyone else. I was chosen by lottery out of a selection of the older troopers. Ones they thought would speak their minds.”

“Indeed, I had a chance to glance through your military record. Very impressive, can I ask a question, sarge?” Josh asked as the doors opened and they walked out into the sparkling foyer of the hotel. Every garish crystal statue had been polished. The water in the fountain had been cleaned and the carpets thoroughly hoovered.

“Bloody hell. Is this what you Earther navy types call officers quarters? I think I signed up for the wrong military,” the ape muttered as he glanced around the room.

“These are not typical quarters. If you want you can see my room while you visit. It’s nothing but a tiny cot, and enough space to walk three or four paces. I don’t even have a window as all crew quarters are near the central core. Safer that way, this place would be an easy target in a fight. Take out the entire crew all at once.” Josh replied as he pointed out the next lift. “Your room is this way. The drinks reception will be held here.”

“Alright, lad,” the ape muttered, his eyes still casting around the room as they made their way to the next elevator. “What did you want to ask me?”

“Your record, so many battles and so much experience. Did you never think to apply for a commission?” Asked Josh as they reached the lift.

“Me? Be an officer? Oh god lad, why in the name of all dust balls, would this pit sim ever want the responsibilities of being a bloody officer?” Stone’s voice was full of disdain. “They offered me a battlefield commission a few times, but I turned it down. I’m not officer material, lad, never will be and I’m glad of that. As a sarge, I take care of the men and women under me, it’s more personal and important. Army’s my family lad, and I take care of my kids, best I can. Like any good father does. Officers… even the good ones, they sends my kids and me to fight and sometimes to die. I give em orders, maybe, but I never wanted to be the one who told them where and when to stand or fall.”

“I never thought of it like that,” the human admitted. “My parents weren’t military and really I joined up because the Navy paid for my degree. Ten years of service for free education.”

“Ten years of service is hardly a free anything, lad,” chuckled the ape.

“True, but we aren’t at war and I think one is unlikely. Besides, the uniform is a hit with the ladies, and the lads,” Josh replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Ah, a man that does not limit his options, smart lad,” there was more than a hint of approval in the ape’s voice. “I was a conscript, didn't have much choice. I could have served my term and got out I suppose, kept telling myself “Just one more tour, then out”. Never quite got there. Not much choice this time, when this tour is over the army won’t want me. Too old to serve.”

Josh could hear both sadness and bitterness in those words. “No more fighting either, Sarge.”

“Aye, lad, peace after all these years,” Stone smiled. “That might take some getting used to. You know the war broke out a few months after I was born, I… never really thought it would end in my lifetime. In a way, I’ll miss it, but I’ll also be bloody glad when it’s gone.”

For a moment they stood in awkward silence before the door to Stone’s room, Josh had never really thought about just how long the war had been. A good proportion of the Mars population had never known life without it. Eventually, he remembered himself, “This is your room, sarge. I hope you find it comfortable.” He said as he keyed in the access code and escorted the large ape inside.

“Comfortable?” Stone asked, his booming voice hushed with awe as he looked out at the sunrise over Mercury. Josh timed their entry perfectly as the mountains were just catching fire. Flames taller than the mountains themselves seemed to lick at the blackness of the sky.

“There’s a choice of two bedrooms, both have full ensuite toilet facilities, but the master bedroom also has a hot tub,” the human explained pointing and yet knowing the ape’s eyes were not following. Probably his ears weren’t listening either. “Of course, the view is… impressive, the sun rises around five times a day. That’s not really the sun rising, it’s the station’s orbit; we stay close to the horizon and dip over it regularly, charge up the solar batteries and then dip down behind. That’s standard practice for stations like this. Though if you look over there you can see the agro stations. Those dark spots in the flames. They stay just over the horizon. Keeping just the maximum amount of sunlight to maximise plant growth.”

Stone took a few steps closer and placed his hand on the window, “they grow food, out here?”

“Oh yes, Mercury is kind of the garden of the solar system. They have some agro stations around Venus but Mercury being closer gets more, they can filter it down to the perfect level to keep the plants growing fast.” Josh explained, trying to keep his voice dispassionate. He could clearly see the ape was impressed with the view. “Earth and Mars are the only planets you can grow food outside on. The moons of Saturn and Jupiter are really far so you need to constantly power grow lights. It gets expensive. All outposts and colonies further out really import almost everything. Earth has so many environmental restrictions we could never grow enough and Mars… well you know. With Mercury having the Sun so close and with the heavy mining industry meaning there were already good space lanes. Plus its rapid orbit means more prime transport windows when it’s closer to Earth.”

“Hmmm, hard to believe you can grow food out there,” Stone muttered, taking his hand off the window.

“Well, if you don’t believe it, taste it,” chuckled the young ensign and gestured to the basket of fruit. “Apples, pears, mangos, kiwis, strawberries and pineapple, all grown on the Mercury agro stations.” The human said, pushing the fruit bowl closer to Sergeant Stone. “Actually technically these are also Martian, as it’s the Mars Provisional Government that owns the station we bought them from.”

Stone picked up a large strawberry and tossed it into his mouth. After a couple of chomps, he swallowed, “Martian Strawberries, not bad, even if they are MPG. Oh, what’s this, legal chocolate?”

Josh frowned at the terminology, “All chocolate is legal…isn’t it?”

“Ha! Lad, you don’t know much about Mars do you?” The ape said as he grabbed the box and tore it open. “The Free State has been under strict trade embargo since the very first days of the rebellion. We don’t exactly have the land or soil needed to grow it. So every bit of chocolate I have ever eaten was brought to the State by smugglers. Every last bite of sweet goodness was illegal. Costly too, you have no idea how much this box would cost back home.”

“I… honestly never thought about that,” the human said. “Why don’t you try one, they are also Mercurian, technically. The cocoa was grown here, but I think from one of the privately owned stations.” He added that last bit, somehow hoping that made things easier than eating produce made by his enemies.

The ape picked a small chocolate out from the tray and just as Josh was expecting him to swallow it whole as he had the strawberry, the ape paused and looked at him. Suddenly the box was held out, “Here, have one.”

“Oh, no, Sir. I couldn't they are for you to enj…”

“Lad! For my entire life, I have never eaten chocolate alone. Whenever anyone in my squad scored a bar, we’d sit down together, share it and savour the sweetness together. Eating it alone… it’s wrong.” The ape’s firm expression softened into a gentle and hopeful smile. “Please, join me.”

Josh knew he had no choice, but in his head, all he could think of was the two other boxes he had secreted in his own room. Picking up the nearest chocolate he could not help but feel deeply guilty, still as they popped it in their mouths at the same time, he saw the deeply satisfied expression on the older ape’s face and knew it was worth it. He swallowed the wonderful sweetness far quicker than the ape did, it seemed like a minute or two before Stone swallowed. Clearly having let the chocolate melt fully on his tongue. “Mmmm, now that’s a hell of a welcome.”

“I… er, there’s some spare boxes. You know the military, always sending too much. I could have them wrapped for you, to take back for your squad,” Josh stammered a little, his guilt much assuaged by the thought of getting rid of the plunder. He knew he would never be able to enjoy them now, not without thinking of Stone and his strange reverence for such a simple treat.

Stone’s eyebrow raised and in those gentle purple eyes, Josh could see the ape was well aware the military always sent too little and expected you to make do. However, when he spoke it was only to say, “That’s very kind of you. I’m sure my guys would appreciate it.”

“No problem. Are you thirsty? There’s some fresh tea and coffee. The tea’s Mercurian but the coffee is actually from Earth. Fresh ground though, Colombian.” Josh knew he was babbling but there was something about those eyes that seemed to be looking through him. It was triggering an instinct to nurture or maybe serve. His stomach was feeling warm and not just from that one chocolate. Or maybe it was a lack of sleep.

“Maybe, in a little bit. Did I hear you say something about a tub before? Like a bathtub?” Stone asked, his eyes scanning the bedroom doors.

“Yes, in the master bedroom. If you want a soak before the drinks. I imagine after a cramped shuttle ride it might help you unwind,” as he spoke, Josh moved towards the door to the master bedroom.

“Lad, do I seem wound up to you?” Chuckled the ape, but he was following. “I spent more nights than you can possibly imagine sleeping in a hole in the Martian sand I dug myself, with two or three other apes, none of whom had washed for a week, squished in beside me. So… it wasn’t all bad.”

“Sorry, I just…”

“Stop apologising, lad. Suggesting a relaxing bath is hardly a capital offence, I’m just teasing. Can’t help it, army life you see, tease and joke whenever you are not fighting for your life. Of course, if life in the military has told me one thing, it's never pass up on a chance for a genuine water bath, because it may be many months of sand scrubbing before you see another one.” Stone’s tone quickly turned from sharp to jovial, his face beaming that gentle and yet strangely mischievous smile of his. “So just point me to this hot tub of yours and I’ll take a dip.”

Deciding just to follow orders the human opened the bedroom door, “That’s the master bed…”

“Bloody hell lad, were you expecting me to be travelling with a parade. Do you have a map and compass? I fear I might get lost on a bed that big by myself, or do you know where I can find some fun company?” Stone’s laughter and his own panic made Josh miss out on any subtle hints.

“I… will come find you if you get lost,” he replied weakly and nodded to a small door. “You can store your clothes there. If you need anything cleaned let me know and I will have it taken care of…”

“Oh, now there’s an offer that could get a young guy in trouble, in the fun parts of Martian cities,” Josh’s face went bright red as he caught on to a far less subtle hint.

“There… I… anyway the hot tub is through here. I’ll get it started filling…”

“Whoa, lad. You said I had a bathtub, not a bleeding pool!” Laughed the ape. “Well, you know when they gave me this assignment I was not sure I’d like it. Spending so much time with the brass is generally an ache in the bollocks, but this… this ain’t bad. At least I can soak my aching bollocks and maybe have a float. Never done that since I was a little fluff ball. However, this tub looks just big enough. Slight pity though, I bet I could have fit half my squad in here. Though I pity the poor sod who had to mop up the floor after we finished.”

“There’s a small mopping droid, it’ll come out automatically when you have finished. Make sure the floor is clean and dry,” the human replied, his mouth working on auto as he tried not to think of ape balls soaking in hot water. He turned on the taps and the hot tub began to fill rapidly. “I’ll wait outside while you…” a soft thump behind him made him turn and then he blushed even deeper crimson. “Get washed. The reception is still a couple of hours away, so no need to rush.”

Josh finished his explanation and then left quickly, getting one more glance before he left the room. He sat down on one of the plush comfortable armchairs in the suite's living room and the image burned onto his retinas played over and over in his mind. Of Stone totally naked. His large stomach looked invitingly snuggly. The wispy greyness of his fur getting greyer down between his thighs. The look of two of the largest balls he had ever seen, dangling low, with a fat black python slapping off them. Josh’s dress uniform was already tented and he tried to clear his mind and think of other things.

His tired eyes closed just one too many times and before he knew it a large paw was shaking his arm, “Hey, lad. You alright there?”

The human jumped a little as his eyes opened to be met with the smiling face of the large ape, “Oh… sorry I must have dozed off.”

The ape was technically no longer naked. Having a large towel wrapped around his waist. His fur was dripping onto the carpet. “You don’t have a proper fur drying unit, do you? All I could find was this…little thing.” As he spoke the ape held up a hairdryer and Josh groaned inwardly. How could he have forgotten to order such a basic need? The hotel had been made to cater to humans, not apes.

“Oh damn, sorry, no. I don’t think when they built this place they installed anything like that. I can run down to the station’s stores, see if we…”

“No problem lad. I can just use a couple of the extra towels and I have my own brush,” chuckled the friendly ape. Josh could not help but glance over the ape’s broad and muscular chest. The ape’s dark red fur had a series of blue patches down both arms and flanks. They matched the one in the centre of Stone’s forehead. Genetically engineered bio ports, they were used in old tech to allow apes to literally plug themselves in. A genetic remnant of their origins, no longer used as the bio-ports were long since surpassed by technology. However, to Josh, they looked kind of handsome. “Could use some help grooming my back though, otherwise my fur can clump and become uncomfortable.”

“I… sure, I can do that,” the human replied, though his tone held a large question mark. Technically he knew what was required of him, however, it was not an experience life had prepared him for. He got to his feet, taking a second to check the time and found out he had slept for more than an hour, doubling the amount of rest he had enjoyed.

Josh followed Stone into the bedroom. He stood slightly awkwardly looking out the window, while the large gorilla scrubbed his naked form dry with several towels. “I’ll make sure you get some dry towels for tomorrow.” He muttered, feeling a desperate need to fill the awkward silence with sound. While he tried not to notice that the reflection in the window meant he was just watching the large primate drying his low-hanging nuts and thick thighs.

A moment later, Stone turned around and Josh was met with the image of a surprisingly perky ass for a chunky ape double his age. Stone’s prehensile tail was wagging around, another leftover from their genetically engineered past. Josh closed his eyes and forced away the rising arousal. He was pretty sure doing anything about those feelings would be an act of treason, or as he was on a Naval structure it probably counted as mutiny. Certainly, Captain Heath would not approve.

“You awake, lad?” Stone’s voice was surprisingly close to his ear and he jumped.

“Yes, sorry, long day. I’ve had an hour’s sleep between duties.” He replied honestly, taking the large brush Stone was holding out for him.

“Well, after you help me with my back, you can get your head down. If I can navigate my way across the Martian desert I can find my way to a lift and go down four floors.” Stone said, turning around and Josh suddenly realised he had the brush in his hand for a reason. Feeling awkward but also oddly energised he reached out and gently brushed down. “Use a bit more force there, lad, you ain't gonna break me.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I am under orders to attend,” Josh replied, as he followed the instructions and brushed harder. Working his way quickly across the broad muscular expanse of fur. Slowly he worked from the top of Stone’s shoulders and down his back. He found the motion oddly calming, just falling into a natural rhythm.

“Whoa, lad! I tend to expect a guy to at least share a ration pack or something before I let him do stuff that low down,” Stone’s words cut through the soft warm tired haze. Josh almost dropped the brush as he realised he had worked down a lot lower than he had intended.

“Sorry… I, just really need a nap,” he stammered, his face practically glowing as he returned the brush to the ape.

“No problem, lad, just get a bit of kip, while I finish up here,” Stone replied, with a good-humoured chuckle.

“I will, Sarge,” the human muttered, still glowing with the heat of his embarrassed blush. He left the room as quickly as seemed polite and returned to the comfortable chair. The soft warm cushions welcomed him back and he found it far too easy to sink in and start slumbering.

Once more he was woken by the gentle shaking of the ape, “here lad,” the ape muttered and through his blurry eyes he could see a cup being held out towards him. His nose picked up the smell of coffee. “I figured we could both do with a brew. Honestly, it’s a pity we don’t have anything stronger we could spice this up with. An evening of listening to officers and diplomats making polite conversation over tiny food on sticks would go so much faster with a nip or two.”

“Thanks,” Josh muttered taking the mug and looking at the black liquid. “Damn, I forgot to get milk, I can just…”

“Sit your arse back down, lad. I have drank coffee that is at least half mud, and half burnt barley grains. I can manage to drink this super fancy coffee, even without milk,” Stone said firmly, as he sat down in the chair opposite. He was back in his dress uniform. Though Josh’s eyes noticed it was freshly ironed and folded, making a mockery of his own, which had been crumpled by the two naps he had taken while wearing it. “If you don’t stop treating me like some officer with a fragile ego just looking for a reason to give you a dressing down, I’m going to start to take it personal. Trust me, lad, you don’t want me to take things personally.”

“Sorry, Sir,” the human whispered.

Stone put a large friendly smile across his lips, “ok, I get it you’re in a bit of a bind. You’ve been ordered to treat me like…well like the rest of the guys expect to be treated. So I’ll let you, outside of this room, ok? So all the others, your captain included, can think you are doing your job. In here alone, I’m just Stone, lad. A Martian ground pounder who has been around the crater more than a couple of times. No apologies needed, and if I push too far, which I will do, call me on it. Tell me to shut the fuck up, or to go take a walk outside. No more dancing on the sand and trying not to leave a footprint. Deal?”

“Deal,” agreed Josh, taking a sip from his black coffee. “Though I will be getting you some milk as soon as possible as black coffee is only barely drinkable. I don’t even want to think about drinking burnt grains in mud.”

“Adds to the flavour,” chuckled the ape.

“Yeah, but when the flavour is ass do you really want to add to that,” snorted the human, trying to show that he was willing to push back.

Stone gave a shrug and a cheeky grin, “That entirely depends upon whose ass.”

Josh squirmed in his chair a little, “I’ll take your word on that.” His comm unit saved him from the awkward moment as a small alert went off. “That’s our five-minute warning.”

The ape gave him a nod of acknowledgement, and the pair of them downed their mugs of coffee and left. Josh was surprised that they did not see any of the other delegates, or even any other officers until they arrived in the foyer. Arriving exactly on time and yet clearly the last to show. The human noticed a load of decorations had been hung in the time they were in Stone’s room.

“Ok, lad. Time to face the sandstorm, wish me luck,” Stone muttered as he adjusted his dress uniform a little.

“Good luck, if you need anything I’ll be… here,” the human stumbled over the last part. He was not entirely sure what his role in this function was, besides making sure Stone arrived and returned to his room. As the ape walked slowly towards the gathered group of diplomats, Josh spotted Aura and a few of the other ensigns clustered at one end of the bar.

Making his way across the room, he passed a few of the crew, all dressed up and with trays of drinks and snacks. It had been several hours since that one chocolate and he knew not how many hours since his last actual meal. So he grabbed a few of everything as he walked. Stuffing his face rapidly, keeping his eye out for any watching officers, in case the food was for the more high-ranking guests only.

“Hey, there you are,” Aura said in greeting. Josh gave a sort of nod of acknowledgement, as he stuffed another mini quiche into his mouth. “Having fun? What’s your guy like? Mine is… eh ok I guess. Spent the entire time reading in his room. Never offered me a seat, just had me standing by the door like I was a bodyguard.”

“Stone seems… nice. He has a bit of a sense of humour and he let me take a nap or two while we waited,” Josh replied, once he was sure he would not spray his friend’s face with crumbs.

“You got to nap, you lucky… oh?!” Aura cut herself off, her face a mask of surprise. Josh turned to follow her gaze but could not see anything.

“What’s up?” He asked, his eyes scanning the room and seeing nothing but a sea of heavily medalled uniformed people sharing small talk.

“I just realised, I was really jealous of you being able to take a nap,” chuckled Aura. “How sad has my life become that I hear a guy took a nap and I’m like “aww man, why couldn’t that have been me?””

Josh laughed out loud at that, “Oh yeah, that’s me. Living the dream, old two-nap Josh.”

“Great, you have your nickname ready for the retirement home,” the pair of them laughed a little too loud and both realised it at once. Glancing around they could see a lot of eyes looking at them. The last thing any junior officer wants is someone high-ranking wondering what is so funny. So they hushed up and moved a few steps closer to the bar. “Heath says no booze for us, doesn’t want any drunken officers ruining his big night.”

“So yours is that big guy right there?” Aura muttered, nodding her head towards Stone. “They grow them big on the Red Planet.”

“He’s… kinda sweet. Apparently, he won some sort of lottery, they wanted a non-commissioned officer to represent the regular soldiers,” Josh replied, following Aura’s gaze to see Stone standing awkwardly at half-attention on his own.

“Poor guy, you sure he won that lottery? Tossed into the deep end with a bunch of generals and politicians.” The female ensign asked as she waved to the bartender and ordered a soda.

Josh caught the bartender’s eye just in time to indicate that he too would like something to drink. “He seemed to think so before when he was using the hot tub and enjoying the chocolates I selected.”

“Oh, you bought him chocolates? Did you get him some flowers too?” Laughed Aura, her eyes still on the awkward ape.

“Please, I got him one box and two for me. Got to justify the request, you know that.” Josh replied slightly on automatic.”You get any cool stuff?”

“Few things, fresh fruit, chocolate, the general is taking them back for his husband and wife apparently.” Replied the female ensign taking a sip of her drink.

“He has both?” Josh asked with a chuckle. “Aww, good for him.”

“It’s not that uncommon, especially on Mars,” Aura informed him, nodding towards her general. “When they designed them, they increased the proportion that would be bi, and gay. Idea was to prevent the population from spiking too high too fast. I think it’s nearly fifty per cent.”

Josh nodded, he had heard that fact before. “Not that it matters. Though after two years on this bloody station, it’d be nice to have just one.”

“That is what R and R is for, hitting it while you can.” Aura laughed as she said it. Though they both knew there was a little more to it than that. They were not allowed to fraternise with anyone else assigned to the station and any relationship would have to be super long distance as most of their prospects were halfway across the system. On the rare occasions he had gone home he had just looked for someone to bone. Dating was something he was going to have time for once he left the Navy, or found a better assignment.

“You think Heath was telling the truth about showing the higher-ups that we are worth more than a backwater posting, like this?” He asked, he already suspected he knew what the real answer was. However, he still wanted to hear someone else say it.

“Oh yeah, he was totally right, for himself. Look at him, out rubbing shoulders, getting in all the pictures. Those pictures will probably be in history books someday. You know who ain't going to make it, who ain't going to get shit out of this…”

“Us?” He asked it as a question, but they both knew it was really a statement.

“Some nice food, soft toilet roll and silk sheets stolen from the suite. That’s what we’ll get from this. Heath will probably get command of a ship and maybe someone will get lucky and be taken with him, but one maybe two at most and it sure as hell isn't going to be the two of us.” The expression on Aura’s face was briefly serious and slightly angry and then she laughed. “Just remember in twenty years when some academic interviews you about being here on this historic occasion, you tell them about old shit drinker Heath and the smuggled quail.” They both broke into laughter, once again a little too loud and they had to stifle themselves.

Josh looked around the room and sipped his soda. Aura might be right, about Heath he was certain she was right, but about someone wanting to interview him someday. At the very least it would be a story to tell. Rubbing elbows with those who would bring about peace. His eyes fell on Stone who had a small cluster of the other delegates around him. The expression on the ape’s face was clearly uncomfortable. Josh imagined being surrounded by admirals at a social function and was sure his face would be equally as uncomfortable.

A few moments later he saw the gorilla move away from the group. One of the chimps broke away and followed him. Josh had been on the receiving end of enough dressing-downs to recognise one when it was happening to another, even when the general was clearly trying to hide the fact. After a minute or more the chimp left and Stone turned to the window, Josh watched him for a moment in silence.

“Looks like your guy was a bit naughty, probably didn’t stick his pinky out far enough when sipping on the champers,” snorted Aura with a half laugh.

Josh did not laugh or even smile. Instead, he swallowed the rest of his soda and slammed his glass down on the bar. He gave Aura a meaningful look and then turned. He moved with purpose across the foyer, dodging around a couple of serving crew and other guests, until he reached the ape’s side. “Hey, Sarge.” He said, suddenly unsure what to say.

“Guessing you saw that, lad,” muttered the ape without turning his head.

“Not sure what I saw, just thought you might need some company,” the human replied, giving Stone a way out because he knew sometimes the last thing you wanted to do was talk about things.

“Not sure what they expected, asking a rank and file here,” snorted the ape and Josh could hear the barely contained anger in his tone. “They asked me what I was going to do when I retire.” Josh waited, very much aware there would be more and that the ape would share it when and if he chose to. Pushing would not help. “I pointed to the agro stations you showed me and said I’d like to do something like that. Maybe get some land, I like the idea of growing stuff… you know. Be nice to create something, grow something.”

Once more the human waited, giving a soft mm-hmm to let the ape know he had heard and understood. After another minute of silence, “that Mars Provisional Government General, she… she made a joke. Something about I had better buy the land quickly cause it’s going to be much more valuable soon. I mean… yeah she is probably right… but it didn’t sit well with me. Not really sure why but… it was only a month ago I buried a couple of lads, good young lads, in that desert.”

The human gulped, he could see the ape almost trembling. Reaching out he placed a hand on Stone’s huge shoulder. It was the only thing he could think to do. For a few minutes they just stood there, looking out into the vast blackness, the cold stars blinking lightyears away from their worries. “She asked me how much land I was thinking of buying. I think she just wanted to make conversation… I told her around a hundred and eighty-seven hectares, one for each lad or lass I had seen buried fighting for that ground over the last thirty years.”

The human suppressed his need to gasp, though his wince of discomfort could be seen in the window. “General Pior did not appreciate my… lack of diplomatic tact, and let me know that if I was not going to behave I should just go back to my room and leave the negotiations to the experts.”

“Thirty years! Thirty years of following orders, even when those orders were impossible. You don’t question, you find a way to make it possible. You don’t … you don’t think of the cost… you do it because you are told you are doing the right thing. Protecting your people and then…” Stone’s words trailed off and the huge ape’s shoulders slumped. “Maybe he’s right… I should go back to my room.”

“He isn’t, but you should,” advised Josh, breaking his silence at last. Seeing a chance to guide the distraught ape away from the event and to someplace private. He knew that in Stone’s place, he would want to be away from prying eyes, and away from where he might overhear the wrong thing or say something else that he regretted.

“Thanks, lad,” muttered the gorilla, finally turning away from the view. The two made their way across the room. Josh skimmed past one of the servers and lifted the man’s entire tray. “For the guests!” He muttered with a meaningful look that made the man not even think of arguing. A few minutes later they were back in Stone’s room and the ape had slumped down in one of the comfy chairs.

“Alright, I grabbed these, because mini-quiche is delicious, and I haven’t had a proper meal all day,'' Josh said as he plonked the tray down on a small table between the two chairs. “How about a drink, there’s some red wine or champagne.”

“Thanks, lad. However, those are drinks for celebrating and I’m not in the mood. You got anything… stronger?” Stone replied, his voice getting stronger and more confident as he spoke.

The human knew he could go down to the foyer and probably get a small bottle of something. That would involve asking and probably explaining and more than likely more people talking about the ape. “You… want to see a magic trick?” The human asked, strolling over to the vent.

“Honestly, lad, I’m not in the mood for anything like that,” snorted the ape, Stone’s face did hold a mildly curious look though.

“Oh trust me, you’ll like this trick. Here we have an ordinary air vent, just like any other,” as he spoke he began to unscrew the vent cover and let it fall to the ground as soon as it was free. Josh suddenly worried that the cleaners might have found the bottle and he would have to explain his lame idea. However, as he shoved his arm in, his fingers felt the smooth cold glass and he grabbed the bottle by the neck and pulled it out saying, “Abra ca fucking dabra!” He savoured the surprised look on the ape’s face.

“Ok, don’t tell anyone, or I’ll probably get a formal reprimand. However, I found this bottle when I was checking this place out. Not sure how people missed it, but it is some very, very fine whisky… I think,” the human announced, moving to the small kitchen section and grabbing two glasses. “Now, I should have turned this in and no doubt the good Captain would have shared it with our fine guests and everyone could sip it and talk about notes of vanilla and cinnamon or some bullshit…”

“So you stole it for yourself?” Chuckled the ape. “Good, lad.”

Placing the glasses down on the table, Josh looked at the bottle. It was a cork, an actual cork. He could not remember the last time he had seen a bottle with a cork top. He promised himself that he would not check how much the bottle was worth, or how much he was going to throw away to cheer up some old ape he had only just met. Right there and then it was both worthless and priceless.

“Well, I was going to share,” technically that was a lie, but Josh figured as he was sharing it he could get away with that one. Peeling away the metal foil and pulling the cork he muttered, “I hope this is at least drinkable.”

“Lad, you don't want to know the awful kinds of hooch I have supped while sitting on some battlefield. Some bugger always sets up a still, wherever soldiers gather. Make em from a mix of stolen medical and toilet gear and ferment anything vaguely fermentable. I one-hundred per cent guarantee I will be able to drink this.” The old ape replied. “Now are you going to pour a glass, or just continue to eyefuck the bottle?”

With a laugh the human pulled on the cork, it came free with a satisfying pop and the sharp scent of spirits. He gave the bottle a sniff, and the alcohol scent burnt his nose. Shrugging, he poured out two very generous measures. They picked them up at the same time, “to interesting times.” He said with a shrug.

“Friends, both new and here, and old and gone,” Stone replied and their glasses clinked gently. They both put their glass to their lips. Josh let a small sip slip into his mouth. It was smooth and easy, only burning slightly. Josh had never had much in the way of whisky but he had a feeling that he would never get another bottle like it. Or a person he would want to share it with as much as this strange and yet affable ape.

The sound of a satisfied groan and the clunk of glass hitting the table made Josh glance over. Stone had drained his entire glass. The human took a bigger sip but knew that if he drained his glass he would probably very soon be very drunk. So he stopped himself and put his half-full glass down. “Not bad.”

“Just what I needed, thanks lad,” Stone said and he lounged back in his chair, his mischievous sparkle returning to his eyes.

“Another?” Josh offered, slightly worried the ape might drink the entire bottle in short order. However, clearly, the primate needed it. Or needed something, anyway and this was all he could think to offer.

“Aye, lad. Don’t worry though. I’m not going to down it like the last one. I’m not some rookie on his first tour, I will savour this. I just… I needed the edges to go a bit fuzzy if you follow my meaning.” Replied Stone, he also grabbed a few mini quiches and stuffed them into his face. “How about a couple of chocolates as well?”

Josh poured another generous measure for the ape, then jumped up to grab the box of chocolates, placing it next to the quiche. “Chocolates, as requested and yes… I know what you mean.

Stone picked up a couple of chocolates and chomped on them, and washed them down with another big sip of whisky, lifting the glass the ape gave another toast “Fine, whisky, fine food and fine company.” Josh grabbed his glass and lifted it to the toast, taking another big sip. He let a sweet chocolate cream melt on his tongue as the burn of the alcohol faded. “You know… I’ve never actually spoken to a human, not like this. Yelled a few insults, and made some threats to the buggers I was fighting. Now I’m sitting here and… well you ain't half bad company.”

“Same, I mean I’ve never hung around with anyone from Mars before.” the human replied, taking another drink. There was a warmth in his stomach growing as the alcohol began to seep into his system properly. “You ain’t half bad company, either, sarge.”

“You mind if I ask something a bit personal?” the ape asked, with a slightly strange look on his face.

“Sure,” Josh replied, lifting the glass back to his lips. He decided that he definitely was developing a taste for whisky. The warm buzz in his tummy and brain was very pleasant.

“Can I suck your dick?” The words hit Josh’s ears and a moment later a mist of fine whisky sprayed from his lips.

“What?!” The human asked, feeling like the entire conversation had taken a sharp turn without any warning.

“I did say it was a personal question,” chuckled the ape. “Maybe more of a request, but that’s semantics and I am a simian that is always up for some antics.” The subtle wordplay fell on ears shocked into deafness.

“I suppose that is a personal question, but damn… I mean, you want to…”

“Suck your dick? Yeah.” The ape had his mischievous smile on. “Thirty years and I have learned that it’s best to just ask if you are interested. I mean, you’re cute and you seemed to check me out in the window when I was changing, so I figured, “Go for it Stone, you never know until you ask”. Plus, I have never sucked a human’s dick before. I’m curious, so I took a shot, shoot me. If you ain't interested that’s fine, no regrets. Sorry if that bothers you.”

“Ok, I appreciate your candour. I am not sure it would be appropriate,” Josh replied, while in his pants his dick was stirring and suggesting that it was always appropriate to let a stud suck your dick, especially if they ask nicely.

“Oh well, you know that I’m Sargeant Appropriate. Sitting with Ensign Appropriate, drinking whisky that was certainly not purloined in any way” laughed the ape with a shrug. “For what it’s worth, you’d remember a night with me. Old soldiers get that way by staying alive. We’re experienced, you see, so we always know the right thing to do. The same goes for stuff in the sack, I got the experience so I know the best way to do things.”

Josh could not help but smile, “well, at least you are direct.” He admitted with a shake of his head. “I mean… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit curious.”

“Nothing wrong with that, curiosity is a normal thing for a lad of any age really,” the ape replied, his grin broadening as if he already knew that he was on the way to getting a yes. Josh hated to admit it, but Stone was probably right. His dick was already tingling and he could not help but admire the firm bulge that was showing between the primate’s well-spread legs.

“So… I’m not saying yes, but what exactly are you proposing, just a quick suck or…”

“Well, a suck to start,” Stone admitted, his grin getting even wider. “Then maybe I could ride your dick, then afterwards, well we’ll see if you are up for afterwards. Not all guys have the stamina for afterwards, that’s something I have learned over the years too. I won’t even ask for a reciprocal blow, I just like giving head. Something about sucking on a dick really gets my old engine roaring. Plus a young guy like you, probably couldn’t handle it.”

This time Josh laughed out loud, before taking a large sip of whisky, “I might be young, but I can spot reverse psychology when it’s right in my face.”

“Ah, so you are good at sucking dick?” Stone shot back, if the ape was ashamed or worried about being called out he did not show it.

Nodding his head emphatically, “I am… fair to middling at it I’m sure. I’ve never had any complaints.”

“Ever had a bad blow job?” The gorilla asked, his eyes glinting as the sun rose once more over Mercury outside the window.

“Well, yeah, I mean everyone has…”

“Did you tell the guy he sucked at sucking?” The question had an edge that Josh did not pick up on.

“What? No, of course I didn’t tell hi… ohhh you crafty old fucker!” Despite himself, Josh laughed out loud. “You laid a fucking trap and I walked right into it.”

Stone gave him a sloppy salute and a bow of his huge head, “Old soldiers, we know all the tricks. Oh, and I have had a terrible blow or two in my life and you know what I did?” The ape paused, but not long enough for Josh to actually ask the question. “I told the guy… well, some of them. When I got older. If I thought they could take it. When I was your age I was just happy to have someone put my dick in their mouth, or vice versa.”

Josh shook his head and picked up another mini-quiche, “I will admit, I have been grateful for that myself.”

The ape nodded and gave another knowing smile, “So… you never actually answered the question, lad. You said you just were not sure. Now we’ve had a little chat, I’ll ask again and hopefully, you will be a lot more sure. Can I suck on your dick?”

Feeling excitement rising Josh tried to reason with himself. Eating the quiche as a slight excuse and time-delaying tactic. While his cock throbbed and ached, he saw Stone’s eyes flick down to his crotch and his face burned with the heat of his blush as he knew he had pitched a tent. The smug and lustful look on the ape’s face let him know that Stone knew just how turned on the idea made him. He downed the last of his glass of whisky in silence and poured himself another, all the while Stone’s lustful gaze seemed to burn away any reluctance until all that was left was a guy with a hard dick that would really appreciate a good sucking. “Yes… you may.”

Josh felt himself tense as he looked at Stone as if he was half expecting the ape to simply launch himself at him and start ripping off his clothes. Though… that was actually far from an unpleasant thought. Stone leant forward slowly and placed his whisky glass down carefully on the table. The ape picked up the cork and pushed it back into the half-empty bottle. “Just in case we get a little too rambunctious. Now breathe, lad. Just relax, it’s just two buddies having a little fun, ok?”

The human let go of the breath he had been holding, “Sorry, just nervous I guess. It’s been way too long since I had any fun.” He bit his lip as the huge primate slipped down out of his chair and over to him. Large gentle paws stroked over his knees and pulled his legs apart gently. “Got to admit, I have wondered a bit and I was checking you out earlier.”

“That’s ok, lad, I checked you out a few times too,” Stone replied, his voice a little lower and huskier than before. Despite the softness of the tone, Stone sounded in complete control. If the ape stood up and pulled his dick out and commanded him to suck it in that tone, Josh would have his lips around that dick before he even thought it through. It seemed odd that such a huge strong male was offering to go down on him. A strong hand ran up each of his thighs and he gasped as he felt a palm stroke over the tip of his engorged maleness. “Seems like a part of you is ready for this.”

As that huge palm stroked over his cock, Josh could think of nothing but the sensation. His dick tingled with pleasure, and his balls ached. Without thinking he pushed his crotch up against the large palms, cursing the fabric that was between them. Opening his mouth to respond, only unintelligible sounds of pleasure escaped his lips. He nodded his head weakly, biting his lip as a finger ran up the zipper of his flies.

“Easy, lad, I’m going to take this nice and slow. We have all night,” the ape’s words only made Josh want to thrust more. His cock was letting him know that it could not wait all fucking night, it needed more sensation and it needed it right then. Stone’s finger and thumb grasped his zipper and pulled slowly. A soft whimper escaped the human’s lips. The pressure around his cock lessened, but agonisingly slowly. The ape’s paws moved so slowly, Josh could practically feel each individual tooth as it opened.

Unable to stop himself, Josh wriggled a little, his erect cocktip finding the small opening in his flies and poking out, covered in the musky, cotton of his underwear. Stone‘s fingers stopped and he saw the ape’s head lean forward. His cock tingled powerfully as he felt warm air blowing through the fabric of his underwear. Josh looked down and could see Stone’s nose just millimetres from the small white lump of his cocktip. Blushing he could see the cotton was wet with his precum. He willed the ape onwards, wanting Stone to pull his length fully out, to feel those thick lips and warm mouth around his aching cock. His balls were aching as they grew tighter at the thought of cumming inside that mouth.

However, Stone did not move, he just held there inhaling deeply and blowing more warm air over the trembling, leaking cocktip. Josh was about to break and ask the ape to suck him when Stone began to move again. He pulled the zip the rest of the way quickly. Paws reached up and unfastened the human’s belt and pants button deftly. “Pants off, lad.” The words were muttered in Stone’s soft gravelly voice.

Josh reacted like a spring when suddenly released from tension, His body leapt to his feet and his hands stripped his pants just as fast as they could. The ape helped him pull his dress shoes off and they were discarded. Before two strong red hands grasped his hips and pushed him firmly back down into the chair. The human went willingly, his cock throbbing hard and a spurt of precum trickled from his cut tip.

“Alright, just relax, lad,” Stone’s commanding voice intoned. While a huge paw grasped around Josh’s sweaty nuts. “Mmmm not bad, lad.” The human cried out as he felt the soft leather of Stone’s palms cradling his balls and pulling gently. Another spurt of precum erupted from the tip. Stone’s head moved closer, hot breath caressed over Josh’s sensitive length. Looking down he could see Stone’s mouth just an inch from his desperately aching length.

Wave and wave of hot breath blew over his trembling cock. He bit his lip and bucked his hips just a little, desperate to feel those soft lips around his cock. Unable to stop himself he whimpered softly, “Please.” He did not need to say what he was begging for, they both knew exactly what he was asking. Josh could hardly believe just a few minutes earlier he had been ready to reject the ape’s advances and now all he could think of was just how badly he needed to feel the ape’s touch.

“Mmmm, that’s a good lad, asking politely,” chuckled the ape and the huge red-furred head darted forward. Josh cried out desperately as he felt a warm board tongue lapping around the base of his cock, and working its way slowly to the tip. He panted desperately just willing that wonderful tongue onwards and upwards. His body trembling with the need to feel that tongue lapping over his sensitive glans.

His fingers pushed deep into the plush chair cushions as he anticipated the touch. The tongue tip teased around his frenulum and then suddenly it was gone. He cried out in desperation, unable to form words as his cock throbbed desperately, rivers of precum escaping the tip. “You’re a bit musky, lad, tastes good.” Chuckled the ape and Josh got the distinct idea Stone was playing with him, teasing him.

“L…long d…daaaaAY!,” Halfway through his reply the primate’s tongue returned to his shaft. Soft lips kissed his length, licking up the rivers of precum. The ape’s tongue moved over every inch of his shaft but avoided his glans with almost surgical efficiency. “P…please.” He whimpered again as the ape’s tongue worked down to lick over his balls.

“Easy, lad, I’ll get there. Just enjoying myself first.” Stone chuckled in reply. The response was far from satisfying for the human or his trembling meat. Getting to it eventually was not good enough, he needed those lips around his cock sucking his aching balls dry and he needed it five minutes ago. Despite his words, Stone’s lips and tongue began to work upwards quickly, that wonderful teasing tongue drawing closer and closer. Josh braced himself for them to stop just short of his glans again. His cock throbbed and precum did not just ooze from his tip, it jetted up in a way it had never done before, landing over the face of his lover.

Josh was ready for those lips to be pulled away once more. His entire body was trembling with need, but he knew that he was not in charge here. Stone was and it would be the ape who decided exactly when he had enough. Just as the human resigned himself to his fate, those soft lips reached his frenulum again and this time pressed onwards and upward. Josh’s cry of pleasure was full-throated and unmitigated. The human hoped the luxury rooms included good soundproofing as he knew he would not be able to keep himself quiet.

The ape’s soft lips held around his cocktip, as Stone’s tongue stroked languidly across his glans. The pleasure grew and yet the motions were just too slow to drive him over the edge. Josh bucked up into that wonderful mouth. Only for a large primate paw to grasp around his hip. Strong fingers pressed into his buttock as the ape held him down. There would be no more thrusting until Stone relented and let go.

Soft moans of pleasure reached his ears, and Josh knew that his lover was enjoying himself too. A flash of movement caught his eye. Tilting in his chair, he looked down past his own crotch and spotted something black and glistening. Between the ape’s legs swung one of the thickest lengths Josh had ever seen. It was only about as long as his own, but the girth made his eyes water and his ass itched with the need to see if he could take such a length.

A red paw flashed into his view and grasped around that thickness. His own fingers twitched as he imagined wrapping them around that length, squeezing it, feeling the heft of it in his hand. Stone stroked his own cock, just as slowly as his tongue teased on Josh’s. The human wondered if the ape was feeling what he was. If he was as close. All it would take was the primate to increase the speed of his motions slightly and he would tumble over the edge of his orgasm. His balls tightened at the very thought of letting go, of filling that cocky ape’s mouth with a heavy load of his cum.

“Oh… fuck!” He moaned, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes. However, the image of that fat gorilla cock was burned onto his retinas and it was all he could think of, and all he could see. Stone’s mouth pressed down slowly, inch after inch of his length vanished inside the ape’s hungry muzzle. Until he finally felt those soft lips kissing his crotch. His cocktip pressed to the back of Stone's throat, It twitched as he dangled perilously over the cliff of his orgasm. All it would take was the tiniest of pushes and he knew he would fall screaming into the oblivion of a powerful release.

His breath caught in his throat and he tried to think of anything else. Duty rosters, service records, ship manifests. Anything to distract himself, anything to prolong these feelings, to keep his orgasm at bay. Stone’s head moved back up just as slowly, just as teasingly and every instinct in his body screamed at him to thrust. Yet the tight pressure on his hips let him know that was not an option. All he could do was lay back and wait for the ape to decide he was satisfied and to drink him dry.

Stone’s broad strong tongue swirled around his glans, teasing his meatus and caressing his frenulum. The sensations ran down his cock making his balls tighten even more. He could feel himself inching closer and closer. His mind was ambivalent about that knowledge. Part of him wanted to cast away and succumb to his orgasm. The rest wanted to show that he was in control, that he could last.

The choice was taken away from him, as Stone’s mouth suddenly thrust forward quickly. The suction increased as the ape’s mouth began to bob rapidly, milking his desperately aching cock. Josh’s mind went blank and any attempts to resist were so small and inconsequential that they lasted fractions of a second. The ape had decided it was time for him to cum and within a few seconds Josh felt his cock throbbing harder than it had ever. His body rocked and his voice screamed out, wordless sounds of unbridled pleasure.

Without a word or even the slightest indication that he had noticed, Stone’s mouth continued bobbing. Josh felt his erupting cock being milked and all he could do was rest meekly in the comfort of his chair. Waves of pleasure washed through him and his balls continued to twitch and convulse as he shot more and more of his heavy load into the hungry mouth of his lover.

After a few minutes, his utterly drained and softening cock pulled from the lips of his lover. “There, lad. Now wasn’t that a good way to start things.” Basking in the afterglow Josh was unable to reply. Though the word start did make his cock throb to know things were only just beginning. “You up to return the favour?”

Josh nodded his head weakly and said in a hushed whisper, “Yes.” The giant ape got to his feet and Josh’s eyes saw the thick cock dangling before him. He was just about to lean forward when Stone moved. The ape leapt with surprising grace and mounted the luxurious chair. Kneeling with his legs on the arms of the chair. Josh’s vision was utterly filled with his lover. Before his face was that thick ape cock, and some low dangling heavy balls. Above him, the huge red-furred belly blocked out almost everything else. “Better get to it, lad, I’m not sure this chair was built to take this kind of weight.”

Each breath Josh took was heavily laced with ape musk. Earthy and leathery, with a strange hint of clove. His mouth filled with drool as that thick sheathed cock pressed to his lips. Feeling the warmth against his mouth. Josh’s lips parted and he pressed his mouth forward eagerly. That leathery pole slid inside easily and he heard his lover groan in pleasure, “That’s it, lad, get a good taste.” He pushed as far forward as he could, the taste flooding his mouth, bitter and yet moreish. His hunger for his lover grew by the second.

He lapped at the hot flesh eagerly, his tongue teasing the skin around the ape’s glans. Wriggling at the tip until it slid satisfyingly under the foreskin. The flavour intensified, and a tang of copper was added to it. While Stone’s sounds of pleasure grew. “Damn, good move, now just swirl that tongue around. You can pull my sheath back with your hand, lad.” Josh grabbed the base of Stone's cock with his hand. Gasping at the feel, the firmness against his touch and the heat. His fingers pulled on the loose skin and he felt the foreskin pulling away from his tongue. With the foreskin out of the way, it was far easier to run his tongue around the glans. His other hand reached up and gently grasped two low-hanging balls. The leathery skin was loose and yet warm and moist.

“Fuck, yeah, that’s it, lad. You can suck a bit harder," Stone groaned down at him. Josh acquiesced immediately, increasing the suction. Just as he was getting used to the flavours and sensations, Stone’s thick meat thrust forward. Thick ape dick pressed slowly but firmly into the human’s mouth. His mouth stretched wider, taking as much of the fat dick as possible into his mouth.

Josh felt grateful, as the ape slowly began to fuck his mouth. It made it much easier to judge if he was doing the right thing when all he needed to do was suck and lick. He felt the ape’s sheath rolling back and forth across his glans and he wondered just how much extra sensation the skin gave. He let his tongue lay on Stone’s glans and felt the tight foreskin coil around it as the ape pulled his cock back.

He felt the ape’s balls twitching slightly under his fingers and gave a gentle tug, earning him a deep gasp of pleasure. Stone kept thrusting, but Josh noted the pace increased, “Good lad, you’re better at this than I thought you’d be. Now, get that lazy tongue of yours working, if you want a proper taste.” Josh glowed slightly with pride at the complimentary words. The human began running his tongue around the fat glans. Swirling it as much as he could, sucking desperately.

The balls in his palm jumped more, the ape’s thrusting getting faster. Bitter jets of fluid leaked from the tip as Stone’s groans of pleasure grew louder and louder. “Fuck.. yeah…suck it, lad!” The ape’s words were purred down to him, and Josh drank them in. He loved to hear the pleasure he was bringing. Maybe he was not as experienced as Stone, but clearly, he was doing a good job. In his hand he rolled those heavy nuts, wondering just how much they contained, what it would taste like. His thirst grew, wanting to savour his lover's juices like he had savoured the fine matured whisky.

Stone’s voice grew louder and louder. He felt those low-hanging nuts, tighten and rise. He knew that at any moment his mouth would be flooded. That thick ape cock rammed in over and over and all he could think of was how badly he needed to drink his lover dry. His own moans of delight echoed around the room as his mouth was bred by his powerful lover. With each thrust, Josh wondered if it would be the final one if he would push Stone over the edge.

With his thirst growing, he began to suck and slurp on the fat cock desperately trying to please the ape, to push him over the edge. Only for the cock to be pulled fully from his lips. Josh groaned deeply with need and confusion. His lips twitched, feeling suddenly empty. Stone leapt down from the chair, landing with a powerful thump on the floor. “Alright, lad. That was nice. However, I think it’s time we moved this party to the bedroom.” Josh did not get a chance to reply as the ape stooped down and he found himself thrown over a huge muscular shoulder.

Josh was not sure what was going to happen in the bedroom, but he was damn sure he wanted to find out. Inside the room, Stone bent over and he found himself flung gently onto the bed, landing with a muffled thump on the soft mattress. Josh lay there watching as Stone walked around the room. The ape’s dress uniform was stripped away and he opened his kitbag and grabbed a tube of something.

Moments later the naked ape was on the bed. Stone crawled up over him and he groaned softly as he felt a huge weight on his belly. The ape’s thick legs were on either side of his frame and he knew that he was not feeling the full weight of his lover, just enough to hold him down. He gasped as he felt his cock fully erect and pressing against Stone’s furry buttocks. “Thing is, lad, I’m a bit more of a sniper these days. One round in the chamber, but a fucking good one, and as nice as your mouth is, I was not ready to discharge my weapon, as it were.”

As he spoke, the ape began to unfasten the buttons on Josh’s dress uniform shirt. Quickly exposing the human’s trim stomach. As a military officer, Josh spent plenty of time in the station’s gym, making sure he was near peak physical fitness. While not exactly musclebound, he had a well-defined chest and torso. Fingers stroked and caressed around his abs and around his pectoral muscles, “mmm interesting, I guess we should stop calling you human’s smoothies, you are kinda bumpy.” chuckled the ape, his fingers tickling slightly as they traced around his abs, “it’s cute.” Josh guessed that with their thick fur muscle definition was unlikely to ever show on the Martian primates.

The human chuckled and squirmed a little, the fingers exploring his flanks tickled as they did so. Stone stopped and held up the tube he had taken from his kitbag. It was not a name he recognised, but as the ape squirted a good dollop of clear gel onto his palm he was quick sure he knew what it was. A moment later his suspicions were confirmed when a strong hand grasped around his cock and he felt the cool gel being smeared across his engorged member.

A gasp of pleasure escaped Josh’s lips as the warm palm continued to stroke his slick, lube-coated dick. “There, lad. Now things should go nice and smooth.” Stone announced as he shifted above the human. Josh knew what was coming and yet he could not help but moan in surprised delight as he felt Stone’s ass gliding across his cocktip. “Now, don’t try this with just any soldier boy, but…” Josh cried out loudly, his entire body trembling, as a plump ape rump thrust downwards firmly. His cock was suddenly engulfed in a warm and tight alien ass.

Stone chuckled and held still above him, while Josh's heart raced faster than it had ever, even during some pretty intense combat training. “Now, lad, you just remember that old Stone is no delicate summer bloom. He can take everything you can throw at him.” As he spoke the ape leant over and Josh found his panting lips were suddenly stopped by a passionate kiss. A tongue, tasting of whisky and musk, forced its way into his mouth.

The human submitted to the kiss happily, closing his eyes and returning it, while his hips bucked a little. The weight of the ape kept him held down. However, the tight grip around his cock almost seemed to suck him deeper and he could not stop himself from pushing up in a desperate attempt to get deeper inside that wonderful warmth. Stone was wriggling a little, each quiver of the rump send sparks of pleasure running down his shaft.

The kiss broke and he gasped desperately for air, Stone nuzzled into his neck and he felt nibbles on his earlobe, followed by a husky whisper, “I’m going to ride every last drop out of you, lad.” Josh shuddered, wanting to respond but worried that he might break the magic of the moment. Furry hands grabbed his wrists and his hands were pulled under the ape, to a thickness he knew had been in his mouth less than five minutes earlier. Needing no further instruction he grabbed around the thick shaft with both hands and began to jerk it, loving the feel of that warm solid mass under his fingers.

With a moan of delight, Stone began to move his hips. Josh gasped at the feeling, the plump ass seemed to squeeze and resist as his cock slid out. The change in friction made him moan and soon he matched his desperate attempts to buck with the ape’s pressing down. Crying out over and over as his cock was stuffed back into that wonderful primate heaven. Stone was holding himself over the human. Josh looked up into a face contorted with bliss, Stone’s hands pressing into the mattress on either side of Josh’s head.

Josh could hardly control himself, the pleasure was too much. His body was demanding more, and he was doing everything he could to give in to those demands. Fucking up into the ape’s depths eagerly. He could already feel a new orgasm building inside him and he tried to ignore it, to push it away, focussing instead on his hands. Milking that thickness, gasping as he felt droplets of precum start to rain down onto his navel. He licked his lips, wondering just how wet he would get if the ape came over him. Secretly he loved the feeling of cum on his skin, other person's cum especially. It was a sign of a job well done, a lover satisfied.

“Fuck, lad,” Stone’s gasped. It took Josh a few seconds to realise that was in instruction, as the ape’s hips slowed to a stop above him. Forcing his hands off the ape’s cock, he grabbed Stone by his ample hips and began to thrust upwards with everything he had. Years of training, of exercise, had helped build up a good deal of stamina and strength in the young male’s torso. So when he started to fuck, he heard the ape cry out in bliss.

Holding nothing back, Josh rutted upwards desperately, his hips slamming hard into the ape. The muffled thuds of skin and fur clashing seemed to echo around the room and right into his ears. His heart raced as the pleasure and passion grew greatly with each passing moment. Josh's defences being battered down rapidly by his own assault, his mind spun and he could think of nothing but thrusting. He was utterly lost to the pure carnal lust of the moment.

Stone’s lips pressed down and he returned the kiss with desperate passion. His tongue fought back against the ape, trying to gain dominance over the lover he was breeding. His balls sang and tingled and he knew he would only last a few more seconds. So he promised himself to make those seconds memorable. Mustering the last of his strength, the sweat-soaked human unleashed an onslaught onto his lover far greater than anything he had ever done to another. His cock reaming the ape’s quivering fuck hole for all it could, he plundered and pillaged Stone’s ass, taking all the pleasure he could. Breaking the kiss to cry out in desperation, his cock throbbing inside his lover as he shot and shot.

Forcing his exhausted body to keep going he fucked again and again, his orgasm somehow drawing out, he shot more streams of cum into the ape than he had given any lover ever. Until utterly he collapsed onto the bed, panting and drenched in sweat. Every muscle burned with exhaustion and he felt weak as a kitten.

“Now that was a good fuck, lad, well done,” Stone moaned softly and he watched the ape lifting off his cock. The softening member flopped back, glistening with a mixture of lube and cum. The ape’s warm bulk lay down beside him and with a few gentle pushes, Josh rolled onto his side, still basking in the afterglow. The warmth from the alcohol and the warm body of his lover spooned up behind him seemed to mix and he found himself drifting in a happy blissful daze.

Something warm and firm stroked up between his naked buttocks. Then he felt something hard pressing to his entrance, it was slick and he gasped as two fingers slid inside him easily. “Mmmm nice and loose, lad. A couple of good orgasms and some exertion really do wonders for helping a guy relax.” Stone’s words purred into his ear, as the ape nibbled and licked on the back of his neck. The fingers inside him moved around slowly and gently, he knew what would follow and he wanted to feel it. Any worries or doubts had been eased out of his body and all he wanted now was to feel that thick ape dick breeding him. Stone had said he only had one load in the chamber and Josh needed to make sure the ape shot it inside him.

Wriggling back against those thrusting and twisting fingers, the human showed his desires. His body still trembling and weak with exhaustion. “Mmm I see someone wants to feel some ape dick, don’t ya, lad?” Josh bit down on his lips, blushing heavily and giving a slight nod in response. Stone’s fingers thrust forward firmly brushing against his prostate, “What was that soldier, I asked you a question? You want to feel that ape dick, don't you?”

“Y…yes,” Josh whispered softly and then whimpered as the fingers inside him thrust back onto his prostate.

“Sorry, I didn't hear that, lad, got to speak up, I’m a bit deaf, tell me you want my dick,” the ape grunted, his words strong and dominant. A thrill ran down Josh’s spine as he submitted himself to the whims of a strong lover more than double his size.

“Yes, sarge, I want your dick sarge. I need your fucking dick,” Josh moaned, his words getting louder and stronger as his body recovered some of its strength.

“Yeah, you fucking do, and you’re going to get it lad. Right now,” Grunted the ape into his ear. He gasped as the fingers were pulled from his ass and the huge battering ram of a cock was mashed to his puckered entrance. “Don’t worry, I’ll take it slow, until I have you fully open and then I am going to show you just how hard a Martian can fuck.” Those words send shivers of lust and anticipation down the human’s spine. While the ape began to thrust, very small thrusts. Stone’s cocktip pressed forward a half centimetre, slightly stretching his pucker and then pulled out.

At first, Josh was not sure what Stone was doing. His cock seemed to stretch his pucker over and over and yet not press inside. It just kept pulling back out. Over and over the ape thrust, each time working the tiniest bit further forward. Josh gave a soft cry when he felt his relaxed pucker stretching further and finally fully around the hard length slowly working its way inside him. Stone gave a soft groan of contentment into his ear and this time he did not pull back. Instead, he pushed forward, pressing his length a half centimetre deeper and pulling back.

Josh whimpered softly as the ape took its time, thrusting and rutting, slowly opening him up far wider than any other lover had ever stretched him. Yet the gradual pace allowed his body to adjust. He found himself pushing back into every thrust, desperate to work more and more of the ape’s fat cock into his quivering depths. Yet the more he pushed, the more firmly Stone’s paws held him, refusing to let the human impale himself. Stone clearly wanted to take his pleasure at his own pace and he was not going to let some upstart young human ensign dictate things to him.

Without warning a hand grasped around Josh’s erect cock and started to jerk it. Josh groaned loudly with pleasure, his hips desperately trying to thrust forward into the hand and back into the ape’s cock. However, Stone held him firmly not letting him move an inch. As ten fingers dug into his hips tightly Josh’s brain suddenly counted the hands and looked down. Stone’s leg was curled around and the ape’s dexterous foot was grasped firmly around his cock. “Oh yeah,” chuckled the ape into his ear. “You’ve never been with one of us before have you, we come with extra features, like prehensile toes and tails.” As he spoke the ape’s red tail swung into view, the tip stroking and tickling over Josh’s balls.

“Oh fuck!” Josh moaned as the ape thrust suddenly a little harder and almost another inch of ape meat was forced deep into the human’s tight ass. Soft lips nibbled up and down Josh’s neck and shoulders, lightly tickling his earlobe. While the foot jerking his cock squeezed it and he covered those long digits with precum.

“That’s the idea, lad,” chuckled the ape right into his ear. “Mmmm you got a nice tight ass, lad. Well, for now anyway.” Josh quivered as he felt teeth lightly grazing his neck, and he found himself just submitting to the pleasure and the strength of his lover. Stone’s hips continued to thrust gently, moment by moment the ape worked his length deeper and deeper. Until with a deeply satisfied grunt, Stone’s hips pressed to his ass as the primate hilted in his depths, large leathery nuts pressing firmly to his taint.

“There, lad, now I’m all in,” Stone's words were softly purred and a soft bite on his shoulder made the human cry out in pleasure. “But I’m not even close to done with you yet, lad.” As he spoke the ape pulled out an inch of thick cock. “First I’m going to fuck another load out of…” Josh screamed out in pleasure cutting through Stone’s words as the ape thrust that inch back in with a strength and speed he was utterly unprepared for. The thick meat mashed into his prostate hard and his cock throbbed suddenly as he realised just how easily his lover could fuck him over the edge. “You.” Stone continued. “Then I’m going to push your face down into that pillow and I’m going to breed your ass as long and hard as it takes to empty everything I have into your tight… pink…soft…nubile…human ass.” With each pause the ape pulled back an inch and thrust back in hard, making Josh cry out as his prostate was reamed.

“That’s it,” the ape purred, his hips not slowing or stopping, sliding back a little further. Josh whimpered as his lover reamed his ass, the sloppy sound of the cock forcing its way back into his echoed around the room with his weak cries of pleasure. The human rested his head on the soft pillow, unable to think of anything but the promise Stone had made about what would happen as soon as he came. As the ape pummelled his prostate, Josh had no doubts Stone could fulfil his promises.

The fingers around his cock seemed to know every last spot to tease. Jets of precum spurted out, Josh could not remember ever giving more than a drop or two before. While inside him the pleasured feelings grew, he knew that if he had not cum twice already he would have already given in. Biting down he tried to hold back the growing pressure inside him, he desperately tried to focus away from the pleasure being driven into him. Shift rotas, ship manifests, and basic minutiae of admin tasks that would be waiting for him. However, they were all forced from his mind by the thick cock reaming his depths as no lover had ever done before.

His orgasm built fast and he was helpless to fight it back. Stone’s foot let go of his cock a moment or two before he peaked. Yet it did not even slow things down. The human pressed back hard, his back pressing into the firm wall of the ape behind him, enjoying the warmth and strength behind him. He felt his balls start to ache and a moment later everything went white. Josh’s cock throbbed and twitched but he barely noticed as he was awash in the sensations and feelings flooding his mind. His entire body clenched and convulsed as he cried out in raw unbridled pleasure.

Josh was awash with the pleasure of the moment. His breath came in rapid pants, his cock continued to twitch and he could feel the jets of cum he was spraying. Just as his orgasm began to fade, a strong paw pressed on his shoulder. He had barely a moment to groan as his body was forced face down onto the mattress. A huge hand landed on the back of his head. The cock that had been reaming his ass so carefully and wonderfully was pushed back into the hilt. With no further warning, it pulled back and Josh screamed into the pillow as the ape's hips demonstrated the difference between making love and fucking.

Stone’s voice lifted up, uttering feral grunts and moans. While his hips thundered against Josh’s ass. The utterly spent human screamed out, the sudden pressure inside him was something he had never known. His spent cock was suddenly rock hard once more and forced firmly into the mattress. The ape’s weight held him down, but that paw on his head gripped him with a dominance he was totally unable to resist. Josh’s eyes were closed and he focussed on the sensations inside him, while those hips pounded off his ass and the ape grunted and snarled above him.

The ape’s hips pounded faster and faster as his grunts and groans got louder. Josh’s ass stung from the smack of those hips on his ass, he heard Stone’s voice give a deep grunt of triumph and the ape slammed home hard one last time, and Josh felt a slight warm tickle inside him. The ape’s hips ground against his ass, the thick length wriggling around inside him. The human relaxed and gave a soft gasp, as the hand lifted off the back of his head. Stone’s hips still pressed firmly to Josh’s ass, that warmth inside him growing.

After a moment he felt a semi-hard cock being pulled from his depths. A warm tickle ran down his taint as ape cum leaked from his abused ass. There was no doubt in Josh’s mind that he would be very sore in the morning. However, that was a problem for the morning and he would face it then. His mind was filled with a soft fog of post-sex endorphins and alcohol. Josh felt the warm embrace of sleep creep over him. He gave in to it willingly and fell happily into unconsciousness.

An incessant beeping woke the young ensign from his slumber. His comm device alarm, he opened his eyes and groaned as his ass reminded him of what he had let happen to it the previous night.

“Morning, lad,” Stone’s soft voice rumbled from behind him. He turned to look at the ape, feeling a burning blush flood his cheeks. “You sure are a deep sleeper.” That did not help the blush that was growing.

“I… erm, last night…”

“Was fun,” the ape completed for him. Stone gave a chuckle. “At least I hope it was and the stains you left on these sheets say you enjoyed it.”

“Oh, I did, very much so. Just… you’re a guest and…”

“Yeah, I know lad, it was inappropriate,” the ape chuckled. “General Prior told me my comment last night was inappropriate. The ape gave Josh a warm smile and added, “As for what we did, eh fuck it we were two horny guys, there’s nothing more appropriately inappropriate than what we did. So long as you got no regrets. You have any, lad?”

Josh listened and could not help but smile when the ape got to the end, “no regrets, save that I might not be able to sit comfortably for a day or two.”

The ape flashed him a grin, “Probably three or four, I got two more nights here and that bottle of whisky is only half drunk. Unless you are done being inappropriate.”

Laughing Josh rolled onto his back, “On a shitty posting like this, I spend most of my time looking for anything halfway fun I can squeeze out of it. Free chocolates, cosy sheets, hell even fucking soft toilet paper. So yeah, I’m down to be a little or even a lot more inappropriate.”

Stone gave an approving nod, “I’ve had more than a couple of shitty postings in my time. A good soldier always finds ways to make them less shitty. That’s a key skill to a long career in the military.” The ape slipped off the bed and stretched, a glorious sight for the young ensign as he watched those muscles flex and the large pot belly stick out. Plus a healthy dose of floppy ape dick and balls. “Getting one over on the officers is another key skill, such as finding some swag they don’t know about and sharing it with your friends.”

The human gave a soft chuckle laying his head down, his body still aching a little from the previous incredibly busy day, “Yeah, even us junior officers do that. It's expected. Though in honesty, I don't really plan on a long career. Just one tour, I got my degree paid for, and now I’m earning it back. Then… I’m not sure, probably a civilian posting. Plenty of work to be found in the space mining industry. I have a friend who works on one of the mining stations, says most of their ship crews are apes.” The ensign blushed a little, “he’s told a few… rather risque stories about what he knows some of their crews get up to, I thought it was hyperbole, until last night.”

“Ha! Unless he gets involved he won't even know the half of it,” chuckled Stone. Shrugging his shoulders. “It’s the human’s fault anyway. You guys made us, our increased libido was a gift, or possibly just a mistake of some genetic engineer.”

“Probably, not that I am complaining. After last night I might have to sign up to do a tour on one of their mining ships,” Josh replied, the idea certainly had an attraction.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Stone yawned, “Certainly was fun. Been on patrol duty for months, so it’s been all sneaky blow jobs or fucks in near full armour.”

“Better than here, it’s been all no blow jobs or fucks in full uniform, or jumpsuit,” replied the human with a yawn.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, just basking comfortably in the early morning. Until Josh’s comm unit went off again and he checked it, “Oh damn, that’s the kitchen, they want to know what you want for breakfast.”

“After last night, everything! I need to recharge before going into that scorpion pit of generals and politicians,” laughed the ape. Josh was able to quickly order a long list of food, bacon, eggs, toast, and a fuckton of pastries. More than enough for the two to share.

“Food will be up in twenty minutes, the first talks officially begin in an hour. I have orders to have you down there ten minutes beforehand. For some official photos and the like.” Josh informed him as he searched the room for his shirt and pants. “ I will need to change into a less creased dress uniform, I don’t want some school kid in a hundred years wondering why the ensign in the background looks like he just fell backwards through a bush. Luckily for you, they have reactivated this place's laundry and when they bring the food they will take your dress uniform and get it cleaned, ironed and back with a good half an hour to spare.”

Josh looked up and noticed the gorilla was staring out the window and most likely not really listening, “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, just… an hour and a half and… I dunno.” Stone turned and gave a shrug, his normal confident air and the cheeky glint in his eye were diminished. “I’ve been in more battles than anyone I know. However, I always knew what I was doing. Even if I didn’t know how to do it, it was simply to defeat the enemy anyway you could follow orders and hope like hell you don’t get your ass shot off. This… this is different. General Prior told me I should apologise, which I didn’t do.”

“You could do so before the start of the talks,” observed the human, moving over to place a reassuring hand on the ape’s shoulder.

“I could, yes,” the ape replied, his voice distant and the response was more an acknowledgement that it was technically a possibility. “Thing is… I have been thinking about it. They wanted me here to represent the men and women on the front. It was a stupid stunt, a PR thing that they may live to regret. See, even if the talks fail I am retiring soon. So fuck General Prior and fuck apologising. These talks… this war… it’s not a joke, not to me or to the people on the sharp end.”

Sensing that the ape needed to finish his thought, Josh said nothing, but he did lightly squeeze the primate’s shoulder so he knew he had heard. A moment later Stone continued, “I think they need me in that room because casualties to them are just… numbers and yeah it’s uncomfortable to be reminded of how much actual blood has been spilt, but I’m not going to let anyone in that room forget it. Cause if they fuck things up then sooner or later more blood will be spilt.”

Stone turned and Josh was thrilled to see the confident and mischievous smile was back, “then after the talks I am going to ride that fun human cock of yours a few times, to remind me of another perk of peace.”

“Never thought of my dick as a perk before,” chuckled the human.

“Oh yeah, a big perk too,” chuckled the ape. “Or my arse is telling me that it was. I have to sit at a peace table for like six hours. I hope you guys have some nice soft seats.”

The human’s face practically glowed crimson as the ape turned to give him a hug. The embarrassment was broken by the ringing of the door buzzer. “Breakfast time, time to fuel up so we can earn those perks.” Josh couldn’t help but smile thinking that he had at least two more nights before the boredom returned and maybe if things went well he might take his next shore leave on Mars, maybe even see how Stone was doing and if he bought the farm he wanted.