FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“I swear to god, I must be the unluckiest human in the entire fucking solar system," Captain Darrius McCoy rolled her eyes at that rather inane statement. The young pilot and her new wingman had been ranting on for a good ten minutes. “Six months of basic training, two years combat pilot training, six further months advanced near planet combat pilot training. All to get here to the war that never ends… fifty fucking plus years of non-stop war. I turn up, ready to do my bit and… fucking peace is declared! God really is spitting in my face."Lieutenant Connell Parker finished his little rant and threw himself on his bunk.

“Ok, a couple of points, first you are an Earth Navy officer not a fifteen year old bitching because someone else beat you to that pretty prom dress you really wanted. Second, it's a police action, a fifty-plus year police action. Third, peace is a good thing and not having to go fight, kill and maybe die are things any sane person would be thankful for." McCoy replied with another roll of her eyes. “Lastly, you know there's a two-week wait for new arrivals to get up into space. You need to adjust to the local gravity. Most people use that time to get out, meet the locals, maybe you could find one of these Martian apes to give your dick a polish. Like a quarter of their species is gay, and most are very up for trying some human."

“First of all, I looked fantastic in my prom dress, never doubt that. Second and third, I know I'm just a bit disappointed after sitting on the ground for two weeks. I don't actually want to be in a real dogfight unless I have to. I'm not that crazy. “ The blonde-haired young man replied with a good-natured smile on his face. “ Lastly, why is that? I mean, why such a high proportion of gay or bi apes?"

The captain shrugged her shoulders, “I dunno. Something about when they were genetically engineering their species. They wanted to avoid massive population explosions. So like fifty per cent of them are bi, twenty-five gay and only a small proportion straight. I think the females are similar. They certainly have been quite welcoming when I have gotten time off base."

“Oh, I didn't know you swung that way," Connell replied with genuine surprise in his voice.

“That's because you've spent the last two weeks bitching about being grounded. Though I swing all ways, never saw much sense in limiting my options. So long as they are nice, respectful and there's a connection…" the Captain paused in her response and gave a shrug. “And not in the military. Flyboys and girls make fucking terrible partners. Trust me on this, rookie. Stick to dating civies. Us military types are just made for breaking hearts."

“Yeah, but we look so fucking dashing in our uniforms." Snorted the young man. “I've never actually… you know… done it with an alien." A flush of pink came to his pink cheeks as he quickly added. “Not cause I have anything against like… you know the inter-species hunka-chunka. Just never really met one that I wanted to bone."

“The inter species hunka-chunka?" Echoed the captain with a laugh.

“Oh sorry, that too new and fresh for you old veterans? I mean had sex with… sex is where your genitals and their genitals meet in one of a variety of ways that is fun and may lead to procreation… just in case your senility erased that bit of knowledge," the young fly-boy replied.

“I am your superior officer you know, I am also fully capable of kicking your ass all over this red dustball," Darrius replied with enough venom in her tone to sting any cocky young pilot out of his mood.

“Yes, Sir!" He replied with a snappy salute from his horizontal position. He wanted to add another snappy comeback to the end of that. However, he could not think of one and he really did not want to keep poking the captain. In honesty, he was glad to have such a laid back and experienced pilot on his wing.

The captain gave a shake of her head and a slight smile," that's better. Now, why are you laying down? We have a patrol to fly." Darrius had signed them up for a regular space patrol. “I signed us up for the evening patrol."

“Why didn't you tell me?" The young human asked excitedly, as he jumped to his feet.

“Because you were having a pity party," Darrius replied with a shrug and a smirk. Then she kicked his bunk. “Time for you to show us all what all that training means. Just a patrol though, we will fly over the Free Mars State lands just beyond the fifty-mile perimeter. Fleet orders, no action in their space unless specifically ordered."

“Is that all the briefing?" Connell asked, a little shocked as his training had involved far more extensive briefings and he expected that for each engagement they would get a full and long briefing.

“It's a standard patrol, not a combat run. All you got to do is fly straight and follow my lead," replied Darrius with a shrug of her shoulders. “I cleared it with the C.O. It's a milk run, fly from here to the outer marker and back. No deep space and engagement only if directly attacked. So far the Free Mars State has kept the truce and it seems unlikely they would suddenly break it. Plus there's a full destroyer group up there. We've got plenty of backup if we need it. Now do you want to keep asking questions or do you want to jump into a cockpit and fly your first official run as a combat pilot, Rookie?"

The question did not require an answer. Connell grabbed his helmet and followed the captain out of their shared tent. Earth navy policy was for pilots to be paired and to ensure they build good relationships and worked well together they had to share a bunk. It was probably the only role where a captain would be sharing a bunk with anyone. Though fraternisation was strictly prohibited.

The two approached their craft. Connell had not yet flown his, though it was not a new ship. It had seen several skirmishes, the last of which had left the former pilot and Darrius' former wingman with one short of the regulation number of two legs. Somehow the pilot had managed to land it, with only half an engine and his leg missing. The human TK-421 was an exceptional craft. Fastest and most manoeuvrable single-pilot craft in the solar system. A sleek ovoid shape with both armaments and wings deployable at need. To allow maximum acceleration and manoeuvrability at need.

Slipping on his helmet, Connell heard the familiar slight pop of the air-seal shutting tight on his neck. He climbed up into the cockpit as his helmet viewscreen began to run the pre-flight checks. Since Darrius was the lead pilot she was the one getting all the clearances. He could hear her talking with flight control in his ear. However, he remained silent, he just needed to listen.

He flicked a few switches as needed, following Darrius' instructions to the letter. Only responding with a single word for each question. While in his gut he felt the giddy feeling start to build. It was the same feeling each time. Part of why he loved flying so much. Even since he was a kid and he would beg his father to take him on every roller coaster, space coaster or even just a basic shuttle ride to the moon.

There was something about the speed and freedom of lifting off from the ground that was addictive. The human's heart began to pound as he ached to hear the five words that meant more to him than almost any others. Finally, they came through, “we are go for launch." Connell's inner child squealed with uncontained glee, while he pulled up on the stick. The craft lifted off easily. A little too fast, he had not quite adjusted to the much lighter Martian gravity. As a newly arrived human, his muscle strength was far higher than the natives, bones were denser too. In a few months, they would start to adapt.

With a quick adjustment, he pulled in behind Darrius' craft. Finding her slipstream, it pulled him along allowing him to throttle back a little, as he followed her rapid ascent pattern. The distance to space was far shorter with Mars, even after almost a century of terraforming the planet's atmosphere was less than a kilometre high. Of course, the fifty years of 'police action' had slowed the terraforming almost to a dead stop.

Feeling the slight giddiness of being weightless, he flipped his fighter into a quick spin for a barrel roll. “Navy policy is one barrel roll per patrol, Rookie," Darrius announced, though Connell could hear the amusement in her voice as she added. “Typical Rookie, shooting their load the second they get behind the stick."

Suitably chastised, Connell chose not to respond. He pulled his fighter up into an appropriate wingman position, just a little behind her. “Flight vector locked in." He announced, checking his scanner display which showed the various areas. Black for free space, no one's land. Red for Mars Free State and blue for Mars Provisional Government. Technically there was no Earth space here. Although given how much Earth funded the Mars Provisional Government they tended to think of it as much as their space.

The two craft shot towards the nearest red space, turning swiftly and skimming just alongside it. Close but clearly on their side. Suddenly a soft alert went off in his cockpit, “I have an enemy craft. Single fighter… oh wow TL Class fighter, that's like eighty years out of date."

“Free Mars State doesn't have much in the way of Navy, just what they stole before the start of the action. Even then it was old gear. Still, their missiles and blasters can do the job," Darrius warned. “I think he's just here to let us know they know we are here."

“That's great, and we are here so they know that we are here. Everyone should be happy then," mumbled Connell keeping his eyes fixed on the screen. “We going to open weapons ports?"

“No rookie, let's not antagonise them. Keep your weapons cold. They probably just wanted to rattle some humies, don't give them the satisfaction." his captain responded quickly. Though he would never admit it to anyone, seeing that red blip hurtling towards them both certainly left him rattled.

“Keep your eyes on the scanner. There was some action around this region a good ten years ago. There are a few floating debris fields. Most have been mapped, but a few… well let's just say there's plenty of smuggler activity in the Free Mars'ers. Their wakes tend to pull it off the charts."

“Affirmative," the human replied as he took his eyes off the blip. Their path was supposedly clear of debris. However, looking for it was probably something Darrius was asking him to do to keep his mind off the incoming fighter.

A few seconds later he heard another warning beep. A proximity alert. “That fighter just hit weapons range."

“I see him, rookie. His weapons are cold though. Just a friendly escort from our neighbours," Darrius voice sounded so calm and confident. Connell wished he was that collected. Glancing out his cockpit he could make of the flare of the fighter's engines. “He's right up to the border, Cap."

“Their scanners are far less sensitive than ours. Give him a little latitude. Just… fly casual. It's just a little joy ride ok. Look at that beautiful Mars scenery beneath us." The reassuring tone made Connell's nerves flare even more. There was something about it. Clearly, Darrius was not happy about the fighter, but not willing to do anything that might provoke an incident.

Looking out he saw the spear-shaped fighter drawing closer. “He's not on an attack vector," he announced with relief. If the fighter was looking to engage he would have been looking to get on his tail. It looked more like he wanted to pull up beside them, maybe even looking for a race. “One hundred meters away and closing. Shit, he's coming closer. Definitely in our space now."

“Hey, he's welcome to visit. However, a single fighter is not about to change the course of the police action," the captain replied calmly.

Fifty meters, thirty, twenty, Connell could not help but notice just how close the other fighter was drawing. Looking to his left he could see more than the shape of the fighter. He could see the cockpit and a vague outline of the pilot. “He's... that's a gorilla."

“Not surprising, they account for about sixty per cent of both Martian armed forces," Darrius replied.

“Should I hack his coms, ask him what he's doing?" Connell asked, watching in awe as the numbers clicked lower. He could see the ape's helmet and soon his face. Just five meters away, the fighter stopped. Pulling up right beside him. The ape turned to look at him, feeling uncomfortable Connell decided to show he was not rattled. So he waved and received a smart single finger salute in return. Without warning the fighter suddenly flipped and pulled away, heading sharply back into his own space.

“Let him go, no hacking his comms, he'll be too far out in a moment anyway," Darrius replied. Comms hacking required a very strong connection, and could only be done within a few hundred meters of enemy fighters. “Well, that was exciting for your first patrol, huh?"

Another alert flashed up on Connell's screen, “I'm picking up a small unregistered debris field, are you getting it?"

“Yes, it's not in our flight path, keep an eye open for more," answered Darrius immediately. She was right too the debris field was a good way into red space. He checked the position of the Free Mars State welcoming party. Connell had to smile a little at the sheer bloody-minded attitude that someone had to not only cross into enemy territory but to fly right alongside two of the most advanced fighters in the system and flip them the bird. That took guts, but no brains.

Something caught his eye as he glanced at the red blip, “our friend is heading directly for that debris field. Surely his scanners will have picked it up."

“Assuming they have those sort of live scan systems. A lot of those old crafts relied on a central scanning source," the captain replied and Connell felt something twisting in his guts.

“We have to warn him!" He replied switching to open comms, “ Earth patrol to Mars Free State craft, check your vector, rogue debris field."

After a few seconds of silence, the red blip just continued on an unchanged approach getting closer to the debris field. “He probably isn't listening to open channels. Most Freeps don't bother with open channels. They are here to fight us, not exchange pleasantries."

“Then how do we warn him?" Connell asked, watching in horror as the Martian ship headed on oblivious to the danger.

“He's too far out to hack comms," the captain replied and Connell could hear a rather deadly calm in her tone. It rattled him far more than the fighter's unannounced approach had. Just keep calm and even while you watch someone flying on to their death.

“Permission to fire a few rounds, see if we can get his attention," he asked, hands paused ready to flick on his weapon system.

“Negative, we have orders, no guns unless attacked. If we start firing then every alarm on both sides is going to go off. The truce might be destroyed," the Captain replied.

“So what do we do, just sit here shouting in an open channel he's not listening to and let him crash?" Connell asked, horrified as he watched the ape fly towards potential oblivion.

“He might not die, if he's lucky he might be able to eject," a reply that to Connell was as good as a simple yes, sit still and watch him die.

In the blink of an eye, Connell made a decision. Flicking a few switches and jerking his stick he hit his afterburners. While in his ear Darrius screamed, “Rookie, what the fuck are you doing?! Get back on my wing now!"

“Sorry Captain, I can't… I can't just sit there and watch someone die. If I get close enough I can hack his comms, let him know." Inside his cockpit alarms started to scream as he approached the red sector. His heart was racing and in the back of his mind, he knew he had just made a choice that was going to change his life forever.

“Connell! Get back here, that is an order!" A female voice screamed into his ear.

“I… can't… sorry," was all he said as his fighter screamed towards the Freep vessel. The gorilla had to have spotted him by now. His vector had not changed, maybe he thought Connell was just returning the single finger salute flyby. Maybe he had orders too. Most likely. Though the human knew right now dozens of captains, admirals, and generals were screaming at people. Poor Darrius was going to get a rough ride too. She had followed orders, he would argue he had done the right thing.

Turning on his hacking computer he began a search. The red blip was a lot closer. So was the debris field. Hacking would take almost a minute, and they had about a minute ten to pull away from the debris field before they both collided. A small red light flashed on his screen, letting him know the hack was running.

He could see the spear-shaped fighter fully in front of him, not deviating from its course by an inch. “Stupid bloody ape, just change your vector, pull up," Connell shouted to himself. Twenty seconds to the debris field, suddenly he got a green light, “Earth patrol to Freep craft, there's a debris field directly in your path, pull up now!" He shouted and began to pull up.

“Who the fuck is…." was all the response he got before static. A second later there was a small flash of light and then Connell was thrown hard against his safety harness. Alarms all over his cockpit screamed at him. Engine hit! Generator overload! Those were the only words he saw before he was hit by more g's than he had ever felt. Passing out briefly.

Two minutes later he woke up and his fighter was gone. He was in the small cockpit, turned escape pod and hurtling towards Mars. In front of him, he could see something just a vague shape. That might have been another pod. His comm system was dead and he checked his transponder, it was utterly fried. Either part of the ape's fighter or a random bit of debris had hit his engine, while he was travelling at full burn. Connell knew he was lucky to be alive. However, only lucky until he was in front of his superior officers and he felt the fallout of this stupid choice.

The red planet was hurtling towards him. The human tried to look for cities or landmarks. However, he could see nothing but red sand and the small escape pod before him. He leant back in his chair and closed his eyes, trying to force himself to relax while his heart raced faster than ever. Two minutes to landing, he began to count quietly, trying not to think about the ground and where he might be landing. The only ocean of Mars was on the other side of the planet. So the good news was the fact he had not brought his swimming trunks would not be an issue. Although there was a good chance he might hit the ground so hard he would get Martian sand wedged so deep he might never get it all out.

One minute, or so by his count. Maybe he had been counting fast. He could open his eyes to check. Only he couldn't, they would not obey him. Maybe it was for the best, as a pilot, he never wanted to see the ground rushing at him as fast as it no doubt was. He felt the pods afterburners kick in and hope sprung forth in his chest. His descent was slowing.

A moment or two later he felt the pod shudder and heard the burners dying. “That's not good." He muttered as the pod picked up velocity again. He heard the soft whoosh of the emergency parachute deploying. While he tried very hard not to think about how limited Mars atmosphere was and how much of minimal use the chute was likely to be, he thought back to Darrius and just how mad she no doubt was at him right now. He'd only known her for two weeks but he knew she had a very acid tongue when annoyed. Connell was willing to bet she would be able to dissolve a xenomorph with her tone at the moment. He hoped she was paying attention to where he was going down.

Each second that past the pod began to shudder more and more. Between the failed afterburners and the deployed chute, Connell had no idea how much longer he had left before impact. He knew that all he needed to do was open his eyes and he would find out exactly. Finally, he overcame his fear and forced his eyes open, just in time to see, 3… 2… 1… and think “well, fuck!" Then he blacked out again as the pod came to a very sudden stop.

Waking up, Connell moaned as his head felt like someone was hitting him periodically with a small hammer. He wished he could either take the hammer away or switch it for a sledgehammer and get things over with. Trembling fingers reached up and popped the canopy of his pod. Sand and dust blew in, along with chilly air. Mars temperature even in the more tropical regions was low. Despite over a century of terraforming areas away from the equator frequently stayed below zero during the day and much worse during the night.

Hauling himself out of the pod he looked back at it. Most of the pod had been buried on impact. A few wisps of smoke which Connell knew would not be seen from far away. He hit his comm on his helmet and was met with a red no signal alert. So no transponder on the pod, and no actual comms. Getting to his knees he felt the loose sand spreading under his weight. He leant into the cockpit and grabbed the emergency kit. It had food bars and a small water condenser that would last a few weeks. Along with a tiny portable solar heater and a tiny single person tent.

As he pulled back, he felt the sand under him moving more. Noticing the pod shudder and slip forward he got to his shaky legs and stumbled a few steps clear. The pod was definitely not a safe place to wait. Neither was the desert. At least there would be no venomous wildlife. He scanned the horizon and apart from what looked like a rocky hill in one direction, all he could see was red sands. No landmarks, no buildings, no rescue teams replete with handsome rescuers who wanted to reward his brave selflessness. Just red sand, and what looked like some footprints.

That last observation suddenly hit him. He looked closer and he was sure. Those were footprints. A series of one person's tracks in the sand, at the bottom of the dune he was standing on. He followed them, hoping to see some signs of life. It was not until they reached the top of the dune he stood on that he realised they had passed by his pod by just a hundred meters. Almost like they might have been circling around the… A soft sound from behind him made Connell turn, there was a blur of red and then for the third time that day he lost consciousness.

Once more he awoke with a groan. The man with the hammer seemed to have decided to dual wield, because now his cheek was in utter agony, along with his head. His shoulders ached too and as he woke he realised his wrists had been bound behind him. Laying on his chest he tried to look around.

“Finally awake huh?" A gruff voice asked as a Freep gorilla came into view. He vaguely recognised him as the pilot that he had tried to warn. Possibly it was hard to tell from the distance he had last seen him and through several transparent metal windows. It made sense though, his pod had probably naturally fallen into the other's slipstream. He seemed to recall something about escape pods being programmed to cluster to try and increase the odds of being rescued. “You might be a filthy humie, but damn your jaw is like fucking granite." The ape moaned stretching out his fingers and then clenching his fist.

“Don't take this the wrong way, but fucking good. Sucker punching the guy who risked his life saving your ass, a broken finger or two would be a start to some payback at least," the human snarled, as he wriggled up to a sitting position. Noting with increasing ire the ape had taken his sidearm and his survival pack. An empty ration pack was sitting on the sand, showing the ape had wasted no time munching into those precious rations.

“Bullshit, you're the one who attacked me, there's a fucking truce on you know," the ape spat back as he picked up the portable heater. “Nice gear though, you guys get all the cool toys or hot toys in this case. Of course, you spend a long time plundering the fucking solar system to get them didn't you?"

Connell knew that answering that question would only lead to more argument, so he let it slide and focussed on the more pressing matter, “you were flying directly into a debris field. I disobeyed a direct order to get to you in time to hack your comms and warn you." The ape's blank expression told him he might not remember everything. Given how rough his landing had been it was not totally unsurprising. “There's a debris field directly in front of you, pull up." He repeated his warning to see if it reawoke any memories

For a moment he saw the ape's brow furrow in confusion like he was suffering a little de ja vu. “Naw, not that it matters, we're both fucked anyway." The reply was somehow far worse than a flat refusal to acknowledge their past encounter. “We're in the fucking wastes. It gets down to minus fifty at night, just five or ten during the day. My transponder was fried and I just checked yours. Don't think we'll get rescued either. Scanners ain't going to pick up two buried fucking dead pods. A billon fucking miles of desert and you and me are somewhere in the middle with just a few ration packs between us and one heater that's probably only got two or three night's charge in it."

The human's heart sank as his captor laid out just how dead they were, “Any chance we might be on the edge of these wastes?"

“Oh aye, a billion miles of wastes, but you and me are so fucking lucky we landed just within walking distance of some swanky, five-star humie hotel. Free room service and blow jobs every night and free food every day," laughed the gorilla and shook his head. “Naw, not likely. Way I figure it we got maybe one shot. When I say we… I mean me, I've got one shot. See that hill over there?"

Turning Connell looked at the rock hill sticking out of the ground." Yeah, I see it. Doesn't look like much of anything." He tried not to think what the ape meant by only him having a chance.

“Aye, you're probably right. It ain't exactly a mountain or anything that would stick on a map. However, it's the only one of its kind as far as the eye can see. There's a chance, a very small chance that back...oh a hundred years ago, some of the original terraformers popped an Atmos station on top of it. “ the ape said, his voice heavy with doubt. “Probably a thousand to one shot, but it's all I got."

“What's an Atmos station and what about me?" The human asked, trying to keep control of his fear. Being left to freeze to death alone in the middle of the Martian desert was not a way he wanted to die.

“An atmos station was a small outpost used to measure how dense the atmosphere was when they were trying to make this place habitable." The ape pilot informed him patiently. "The atmosphere here was about a meter high when they started. Later on, it was like fifty or more, but it wasn't evenly spread. See sometimes you got sort of currents and they'd pull away the oxygen, and our ancestors would have to run for oxygen safe houses. You didn't make it in time you asphyxiated on the surface. While our creators watched, safe as houses in their shiny space ships and stations."

“So, now you're going to leave me to die on the surface, as what vengeance?" Connell asked darkly. He did not really want the answer, but he really wanted to let the ape know. He wanted the ape to look him in the eye and admit he was about to murder him.

The red ape's face leant down to where he sat. The black face was framed with red fur and the blue diamond on his forehead. Connell had always found that quite attractive a combination. Until he looked into those green eyes and heard the ape say, “Not vengeance, just… practicality. See it'll be a three-day journey maybe more. Then a climb and then if we get lucky and it's there and it has a comm system we can fix, it might be days before a signal finds someone who can actually come get us. We don't have food and water for all that."

“Not the way you have been scoffing those ration bars," observed the human bitterly. “The condenser will keep us in water for a few weeks, even with two, with some careful rationing. Food, well no offence but it looks like you'd take a month or two to starve to death. Me too." The ape definitely had an extra bit of gut. Most gorillas did. Though he noticed the ape was actually far trimmer than the Provisional Government apes he had met. His fur was a much darker shade of red as well, almost rust-brown in some light.

“Maybe, but not sure why I'd take a chance for some humie," the ape replied with a wink. “Well, it's already late afternoon, I better get going. I can probably make a few miles before the sun goes down and it starts to freeze."

“Bastard," Connell snarled. “I wouldn't be here if I hadn't tried to save your wretched hide."

“Neither of us would be here if you had not tried to steal Mars out from under us," the ape spat back and gave another wink. Turning he began to walk away. Connell watched thinking a million insults he wanted to hurl. Some at himself, most at the ape. However, the ape had only gone a few steps before he paused and the hulking creature turned and looked back at him. Connell did his best to draw himself up, he would be damned if he was not going to show some pride in the face of death.

For a whole minute, the two stared into each other's eyes. Then the ape seemed to come to some decision. Turning back he trudged over to Connell. The human was not sure why he had come back. It was just possible he wanted to give him a quick and relatively painless ending. However, a huge red paw grabbed his shirt and he was hauled roughly to his feet. His own sidearm was held up in the other paw, “just remember I'm the one with the gun, and now we're even. Understand humie?"

Connell understood, the ape knew he had saved his life and was suggesting that him not leaving the human to die was his way of repaying the favour. In Connell's mind that was hardly fair, however, he was also going to keep that opinion in his mind. “I understand." He replied calmly and then added, “the name's Connell, by the way."

“Roak," grunted the ape as he unfastened Connell's wrists. Then he swung his backpack off his back and it slammed Connell in the chest. “We should take turns hauling this shit and as you are my prisoner you get the honour and delight of the first shift."

“Great," Connell muttered as he swung the heavy pack onto his back. “Go to Mars, see the galaxy, meet exotic people, have a few laughs."

“Ain't no-one laughing now, humie," chuckled the ape. “'Cept me, but I'm special that way. Laugh in the face of death and fart in the general direction of danger. That's my attitude."

“Well, that explains a lot," Connell replied as the two began to walk. The sand shifted under their feet with each step. Reminding Connell of walking on a beach, except the sun was not shining and there was no rolling ocean. Nor any of the usual refreshment bars that were, in Connell's experience, found on beaches.

Their going was slow and conversation between the pair stopped. Breath and energy were precious and not to be wasted on talking. Connell began to realise the Roak might have underestimated how long it would take them to walk to the hill. He kept his eyes fixed on the rocky outcrop, wishing with every step that it would move closer.

Roak had taken off his boots and seemed to be going faster with his prehensile feet able to spread out and distribute his weight better. Connell was glad he had only recently arrived on Mars, or he would not have been able to keep pace. Certainly not with the survival pack on his back.

As the sun started to reach the horizon, Roak called out for him to stop, “We should set up the tent. Temperature will drop really fast once the sun goes down." The ape said, grabbing the pack from the human. “Good thing you humies are so well equipped, cause my survival pack is basically my jumpsuit and a couple of ration bars I hit in my cockpit in case I fancied a snack." The gorilla pulled out the single man tent and glanced at the instructions.

Pressing a button on the side, he threw it down and they both gave a soft groan. “Ok, I take it back," Roak quipped. Before them both was something that technically could be called a tent. However, it was just a little over a meter high and wide, maybe two meters long. Literally, just enough space for one person to lay down comfortably. For two… it was going to be a squeeze.

However, Connell knew that a night up close and personal with the opposition was preferable to a night outside. His breath was already fogging the air and he was sure the temperature had already fallen below zero and was rapidly getting colder. “Mi casa, su casa," the human said with a theatrical wave of his hand. “Beats freezing to death, let's get in and get the heater on before we end up flash frozen."

Roak pulled Connell's sidearm out and gave him a meaningful look, stepping up real close, “just remember I am armed."

Connell gave the gorilla his own meaningful look and reached into his pocket. For a second the gorilla pointed the barrel of the sidearm at him, however, he pulled out a small object anyway, slowly. Then he stuck his tongue out and held the object above it. A small white speck fell onto his tongue. He gave the confused ape a meaningful look and said, “just remember, I have breath mints."

For a second he saw the utter rage in the gorilla's eyes and he could almost pinpoint the second it faded and suddenly Roak's shoulders were shaking as he began to laugh. “I'm starting to be glad I didn't leave you to die, humie."

“Oh, me too. Utterly thrilled! Now get inside, I swear I will be a perfect gentleman." Laughed the human, pressing the small release and opening the small entrance to the tent. He chucked the rest of the survival kit inside. Roak followed the pack and he went last. Sliding his body slowly up inside the thin fabric. Laying on his side, he found himself staring at the gorilla. While their bodies were just a hair's breadth apart.

“You need to make sure you're not touching the sides," Connell explained. “The fabric is really good at insulating, but if you touch it then you sort of soak up the outside temperature."

Suddenly that hair's breadth was gone and he found himself pressed against the ape's rather firm but large frame. “You might have breath mints, but I'm the one who is getting the benefit." Chuckled the ape as they lay almost nose to nose.

Feeling the heat of his captor's breath flowing over his face, the human could see Roak's point, “I'm happy to share." The human laughed and pulled the box out of his jumpsuit pocket. The ape took it from him and a moment later the tent became a little mintier.

Squirming a little the human grabbed the pack and pulled out the small heater. “Good thing with there being two of us in here, our body temp will really help save some power on this thing. Make it last a few days longer."

“I knew if I brought you with me I'd find a use for you," snorted the gorilla as the two rested against each other.

“Another guy just after me for my hot body, story of my life," Connell replied, the quip came naturally to him. However, it seemed to land poorly as they both fell into an uncomfortable silence. The heater finally clicked on and a gentle warmth flowed out from it, chasing away the slight chill.

The two lay next to each other in awkward silence. Reminding Connell of a few one night stands he had regretted when he sobered up. Only without the fun night of doing something really stupid beforehand. Although, many would argue throwing away his career for a stranger was certainly stupid. Though far more of a long term commitment than a night of no-strings fun.

After a few minutes, he noticed just how dark it was getting. “I think there's some small chemical lights in here too," the human muttered. “Ones that fortunately don't need power, but are not going to give off any heat either." He pulled out a small squishy oval and squeezed it tightly in his hand. To break some chemical inside and then opened his palm and a warm yellow glow lit up the tiny tent.

“How long will that last?" The ape asked.

“Oh about a week and we have two. I think the water condenser has an inbuilt light. It works off solar and I don't know how well that's going to work on mars. We're much further from the sun," the pilot answered, placing the small disk down. “Reminds me of when I was a kid, my grandad used to take me camping and he'd leave one of these in my tent. To keep the bears away."

“Sounds nice," Roak replied softly, the ape's eyes fixed on the light. “my grandfather never took me anywhere, and then he was killed in the war."

“Sorry," Connell replied on instinct, feeling intensely uncomfortable.

“People die," Roak replied with a shrug. “It's part of life. I still remember him, that's more than some of the pit sims I know can claim. I remember when he would come home for a few days. Visit me and my mother, sit me on his knee and tell me all sorts of stories. Of what we'd do when the war was over. Places we would go, he heard there were colonies out as far as Pluto. He wanted to see them all."

Connell just listened, that uncomfortable feeling growing, “my grandfather said he was going to travel when he retired. He was a teacher."

“Was that what he did after his tour?" Roak asked quietly.

“Er, no we don't have conscription. I'm actually the first person to join up in my family." Connell replied and the response was deadly silence. Trying to fill the void he continued to explain. Hoping that he could find some common ground at least as a fellow pilot. “Truth be told I did it because I'm a bit of a speed junkie. Love flying, you know that sort of weird dizzy sick feeling you get when you flip your bird up to full throttle and just go for it like a bat out of hell? I live for it."

“I know the feeling," the ape replied softly. “Though I cannot imagine anyone doing this shit if they had a choice. Living on a world where everyone has everything and you can look a parent in the eye and know they didn't just skip food for three days just to make sure their kid got something to eat. Where you climb into a fighter just to make your stomach feel funny. Must be nice."

“I wish Earth was like that," Connell replied softly. “Maybe we have things better, probably do now that I think about it. Better than I knew. However, there's always some that go without. Just like death, it's part of life… I suppose."

“A shitty part," grunted the ape.

“You'll get no argument from me on that point," the human replied laying his head on the base of the tent. “Wish we had a blanket or something. Even with that heater, it's cold. What do you reckon the temperature is like outside?"

“Fucking cold," snorted the ape.

Connell laughed at that, “no doubt. Guess it doesn't matter. So long as we stay in here. Maybe get some sleep it's been a long day."

“Sleeping with the enemy, if my mother could see me now she'd slap the red from my fur," grumbled the ape and the entire tent shook as he turned around to place his back against the human.

Connell squirmed and turned, his back pressing against the warm wall behind him. Grateful for the heat. While an inch before his nose he could see the red tent fabric that separated the pair from a frozen death. Less than a millimetre of fabric. It reminded him of his first time in a real cockpit, realising that there was just an inch of metal between him and the cold dead vacuum of space.

His eyes began to close and before he knew it he had passed out for the fourth time that day. This time at least it was on his own terms and it lasted a good few hours. The red sands of Mars rattled against the fabric, as a soft wind blew. Their tiny tent emitted a soft green glow from the light stone. A tiny candle in an endless canvas of rust, a thousand miles from anywhere, or anyone.

Hours passed, and eventually, the sun began to rise, as did the temperature. Connell felt surprisingly warm as he slowly came back to consciousness. He could feel a second body pressed up behind him, the delightful knowledge that he had not slept alone filtered into his brain. A huge arm hugged around his chest and he could feel the warmth of someone's breath against the nape of his neck. He smiled and sighed happily, pressing back semi-consciously into the embrace. In his hazy mind, he assumed it was a holiday, and he clearly had not celebrated alone. He knew on some level he was wrong, but that seemed like something that he could worry about later. Now, what was the name of the guy he had seduced and what exactly had they done that night?

Suddenly he opened his eyes and the world came back into sharp focus and he remembered the events of the previous day. That huge hairy arm around him belonged to a gorilla pilot. With a sudden start, he tried to sit up, only for his face to smack firmly into the tent fabric. The survival tent was not made for anything but laying down. Behind him, he heard the ape yawn and felt that arm move from around him, “well, humie. You snore something fierce, but you're better than a hot brick to keep an ape warm in the night."

“Ah, you have uncovered my natural talent to lay still and radiate warmth," Connell replied, rubbing his eyes. “Looks light, I wonder if it's warm enough to get going."

“Not yet, we've had bed, it's time for some breakfast. Condensed water and ration bars, just like mother used to queue for," grumbled the ape as he squirmed behind Connell and the human heard the soft whirring and the splashing of water into the small cup. His own mouth felt as dry and the sands outside the tent. Unfortunately, there was just one small cup, so he had to wait for Roak to finish, before getting his own small cup of water.

Roak grabbed a ration bar and Connell spoke up, “we should go easy on the food. Maybe half a bar each a day. That should get us to the top of that hill with a day or two for some rescue before we just run out of food." The gorilla nodded and seemed to accept the logic of his argument and then tore the ration bar wrapper open and snapped the bar in half, offering half to Connell.

The human watched the ape devour his ration in a single mouthful. He took a small bite and winced. “This is not the bacon sandwich I ordered. I am never staying at this bed and breakfast again."

“Humies are soft huh?" Laughed Roak.

“Not soft, just saying that I have found stuff down the back of my sofa that tasted better than this," glancing at the ration bar he could feel his hungry stomach rumbling and grumbling. However, he ignored its demands that he eat and offered the second half of his ration to the ape saying, “here you go. I'm really not that hungry. I'll carry the pack today too."

“No need to prove yourself, humie," replied the ape. “If you exhaust yourself and fall over I am not carrying your ass."

“Not about proving myself. It's just good sense. I only arrived from Earth two weeks ago. So I am used to a much higher gravity, the weight will slow me down a lot less than it will you," the human explained, doing his best not to sound smug or superior as he explained.

“Ok," the gorilla replied simply. “You can carry it and I'll finish your breakfast. This doesn't mean that I like you."

“Oh, no. I would never assume that you would, we're on opposite sides and all," Connell responded with a smile as the ape took his ration and finished it in a single bite. The slight look of satisfaction on Roak's face made him smile internally.

Their camp was packed up in a few minutes, but before they started off roak grabbed his shoulder. The ape pulled a knife out and for a second Connell was worried. Then the ape cut two metal buttons off his own flight suit pockets. “Here, put it in your mouth and suck. It'll help stop you from feeling thirsty." As he spoke the ape held out one of the buttons as he put the other in his mouth.

Connell took the button and placed it in his mouth. The cool metal was mildly pleasant. If a bit musty and then they set off. Connell noted his breath was still misting up as they started. The temperature was still below zero but rising. The cold put a bit of a spring in their step, for a while at least.

However, after a few hours of walking on the loose sand and every muscle in his body was aching and screaming at him to stop. He could see Roak ahead of him and noticed him slip down onto all fours briefly. “Hey, how about we take a short drink break. I mean a few mouthfuls of water would be great." It really would, after several hours of sucking on the button and swallowing his own spit, drinking actual moisture his own body did not produce would be like supping on ambrosia.

Roak did not reply verbally, but he sat down on the sand and waved his hand for the human to join him. The condenser was dug out from the pack and a glass of water was pulled from the Martian air. This time they shared it. The machine was good, but limited and pulling the water from the dry Martian air was energy-intensive.

After their drink, Roak pointed up, “see that dune, I think there's rock under it. Possibly an outcrop from that hill. If so the going might be easier up on there. Trouble is we'd have to climb up the fucking sand to get to the top and I might be wrong. It just… it looks wrong, more like sand piled up against something than the natural dunes."

“I'm willing to try. An easier path would be nice," Connell said supportively. Though internally he winced at the thought of climbing up a dune. So far they had kept down in the valleys between the dunes.

Roak stood up and nodded at the human. “Then let's get to it. We are wasting daylight."

A few minutes later and they both were regretting their decision. Walking had been hard enough, trying to climb the dune proved far more exhausting. The sand was loose and the side of the dune much steeper than Connell had thought. The human found that with every step upwards, he slipped back at least three-quarters of a step. His boots were filled with sand and he could feel it itching between his toes, painfully so after only a few minutes.

However, they were making progress and after half an hour they had made the halfway point. The climb only got steeper as they got higher. Using both hands and feet, the sand was cold and Connell ached. He had no idea how Roak managed to keep going without the benefit of just arriving on a low gravity planet.

Cursing the human felt both feet and hands beginning to slip as sand ran away under him. Snarling with the effort he cursed the dune in his mind, while he desperately tried to scramble to one side and find firmer sand.

“You ok, humie?" Roak asked, just a few meters above him.

“Oh, I'm just fantastic. I was just saying I really needed a holiday somewhere cold, and sandy, where everything you do takes ten times the normal effort. It's a dream come true," he retorted and as he spoke, he spotted something. Near the top of the dune was a rock, a clear boulder in fact jutting out from the sand. The human had never seen anything as wonderful as that bit of Martian rock. He gestured excitedly, “look! You were right!"

The ape followed his gesture and gave a cry of triumph as he spotted the rock. Roak lifted up both hands in victory, only suddenly he was wobbling. The sand started to run like a river as the ape tried to steady himself. Connell watched the horror above him and felt the sand flowing down to him. A second later Roak slipped and landed full length in the sand. The impact of the large creature shaking so much sand loose. A huge sandslide carried the ape down and Connell yelped as he was hit, first by sand and then by the helpless ape.

They both slipped and tumbled, gravity was clearly not their friend as he seemed determined to undo all of their good work. Eventually, they slid to a stop as the slope began to even out. “Fuck!" The ape screamed out loud and Connell shared his sentiments. For a few moments, they lay in the sand, silent and unmoving. Then Roak got to his feet, he offered Connell a hand saying, “sorry, I should…"

Grabbing the ape's hand the human cut him off, “no apologies. We knew it'd be a tough climb. Could have easily been me. The good news is we didn't slide all the way down. The bad news is you were right it looks like we get to the top of this thing and we'll have something firm under our feet."

Roak gave a confused look, “why is that bad news?"

Connell smiled and waved at the steep sand they had just slipped down, “because now we have to climb this bitch again!" He gave the ape a friendly smack on the arm, noting that under the plush fur was some solid muscle. Roak gave him a grateful grin and the two began their torturously slow ascent.

It took them two hours but they finally made it and stretching before them for a good few miles was a sheet of red rock. Connell hoped that it would stretch all the way to the hill. If their luck held and it did then they would reach the hill sometime the next day. They celebrated their climb with a full cup of water each.

The going was indeed much easier. There were pools of sand every so often, but they did not last long or slow them down much. Connell spirit felt fairly high as they called an end to their day's walking. Though his eyes rarely had strayed from the hill, looking for any sign that they were walking towards some sort of salvation. However, the red rock had so far revealed nothing but that the end of this long walk was going to be a tough climb.

The tent was erected and once more he let Roak go first. The only sound was the grumbling of their bellies after a long and very exhausting day their bodies demanded some food. Connell pulled out his box of mints, they held zero calories, but it was nice to at least think you were eating something. Roak took one without a word, they were both too exhausted to speak.

Putting the box back in the opposite pocket, because he was laying on the one he took it from, Connell felt something brush his fingers and gave an excited yelp. Laying face to face with the ape, he could see a confused and slightly annoyed look on the face of the gorilla. Not too surprising given that yelp had been right in front of Roak's nose. Connell broke into a huge grin, “I… have a chocolate bar in my pocket! Just a small one, I swiped it from the mess the other morning and forgot about it."

Pulling the small bar out of his pocket, it was a bit misshapen, clearly, it had melted in his pocket and resolidified at some point. If he was back at the base he would have thrown it into the bin. However, in the middle of nowhere, it was the most amazing thing he had ever found in his pocket. “You want to split it now? I mean, it's just like four squares, now four smushes. So it's not gonna make any big difference if we ration it."

Roak gave an eager nod. Connell squirmed a little reaching out with both hands into the small empty space at the far end of the tent, where the pack had been stowed. The only tiny bit of space not occupied by human or ape. He tore the wrapper with such delicacy an observer might have thought the contents were dangerously unstable explosives. A few crumbs of chocolate landed on the floor and he cursed to see those tiny scraps going to waste.

The mishappen lump had just enough of the original lines left that he was able to break it into two roughly even parts. He gave what he thought was the slightly larger portion to the ape. Taking the other for himself. A moment later they both gave a soft moan of sweet satisfaction. Connell closed his eyes, keeping the chocolate in his mouth, letting it melt satisfyingly on his tongue. He had only snagged the bar because he had not seen them in the mess before. They certainly had not been provided during his training. Though, he had noticed the Martians were very devoted to their military and their soldiers in particular. So he was not too surprised to see them providing their fighting males and females with a few little luxuries.

“I don't think I've had any chocolate since I left Earth," he moaned softly, his mouth still wonderfully sticky and sweet. “My parents took me out for a meal when I got my posting. A nice steak dinner and a slice of chocolate cake for dessert." The human remembered the look on his mother's face. The smile was sort of fake, and he knew she was trying to hide her fear. Her only boy was off to war and she was worried he might not come back. He wondered if she had heard anything yet. They would have been declared missing in action already. Suddenly he felt a deep pang of homesickness.

“On my birthday, every year, my mother would save her rations up… just to get me a small bar," Roak replied softly. “When I was young I'd eat it in like two mouthfuls. Last few times I tried to share it with her. She never took a square, insisted it was for me." the ape gave a soft chuckle, “she even sent me one on my last birthday. I… still have it in my locker. Didn't feel right eating it without her." the ape gave a soft sigh and then a sudden grunt of anger, “they probably cleaned out my locker already. Some damn skut will have nicked my chocolate. If I get back and I find out who I swear I will take it out on his hide."

Connell gave a soft laugh and smiled at that thought, “stealing a dead man's chocolate. That's low. I'll hold them down if you want… assuming I am not in a cell by then."

“A nice cell, I'll make sure of that," smirked the ape. “Put in a good word. Let them know that you might be a stupid humie, but you ain't all bad."

“Careful, I might blush," laughed Connell with a shake of his head. Just enjoying the moment, and unconsciously leaning into the ape, for the warmth. He felt comfortable and more importantly, he felt tired. His eyes were suddenly heavy and before he knew it he slipped into a comfortable and deep slumber.

The two exhausted men slept soundly. While outside the small tent the sand froze and the soft Martian breeze stroked over the canvass of their tent. The tiny oasis of light and warmth in the frozen wastes.

This time when he woke, Connell knew exactly where he was. He was face-first in the warm soft chest-fur of the ape that was embracing him. The warmth caressed his cheeks and his nose filled with the oddly reassuring musk of the male primate. His own arms were holding on genty. He knew that if he moved Roak would wake, and their embrace would end in short order. So he closed his eyes again and let his face press back into the plush black velvet of the ape's broad chest.

Enjoying the warmth and the scent. It had been too long since he had enjoyed any time with anyone on such a personal level. Those strong arms around him suddenly tightened as Roak snorted in his sleep and Connell held his breath to see if the ape was waking up. However, he smiled when the next sound was just a soft snore. Closing his own eyes and nuzzling in a little deeper.

Connell had never done anything with any of the alien species in the solar system. Though he knew it was quite common. Thus far he had never met any aliens that stirred anything inside him. Though as he lay there in that wonderful strong embrace he felt something stirring lower down. It was not his, well, not just his. He felt something firm pressing against his stomach. While he knew part of him was at least partially swollen and pushing back.

He gulped softly, wondering what the size of the thing pushing against his stomach was. Was it thick? What did it taste like? After several days with no bathing, he doubted it would be sweet chocolate tasting. Though he would probably enjoy it all the same. In his mind he pictured himself slipping down, pealing open the gorilla's jumpsuit flies and taking a good sniff and then getting a nice taste.

He gave a soft moan as the ape moved, his erect cock sending a little thrill of pleasure as the ape's body stroked against it.

“Hey, humie, it's morning," Connell yawned and pulled away from the ape. Trying not to notice the lump disappear and hoping the ape had not felt his erection.

Giving a slightly fake yawn the human pretended he had just woken, “another beautiful day in the Martian wastes no doubt. This morning I would like eggs benedict, with four rounds of wholewheat toast and maybe some french toast to follow. Along with a freshly brewed pot of coffee made from Kenyan beans."

“I hope you got a good imagination then," snorted Roak, and a second later the ape threw half a ration bar to Connell.

Ignoring the ape's reply and also ignoring the unpleasant taste and texture of his breakfast, Connell asked, “you think there's actually an Atmos station on top of that hill?"

Roak gave a snort, “we'll find out soon enough. Even if there is one there's no guarantees about what's in it."

“Maybe a five-star bed and breakfast, with an award-winning chef," observed the human, as he wriggled out of the tent. “There's eggs benedict in them there hills. I can smells them."

A loud laugh was the ape's reply. Followed by the sound of the condenser working to make their morning beverage. After a fresh cup of water, Connell still felt thirsty, “doesn't it ever rain here? I thought you had weather patterns on Mars now?"

“We do, but only small ones," Roak replied. “They were going to land another comet or two, to significantly increase the water volume of the planet."

Connell did not need to ask what had happened to stop it. The Free Mars State had formed and grabbed two-thirds of the planet. Triggering the fifty years of police action. Nobody had been willing to spend the kind of cash needed to actually slow, steer and land comets on a planet torn in half by war. Looking up he could not see a single cloud in the Martian sky, it was an odd thing to miss but it just made him long to be back home on Earth. “I guess maybe it does rain here sometimes, probably the water just ends up under the sand."

“Probably," agreed the ape, as they began to pack up their camp. It only took a few minutes and they were off on their way. Connell hated to admit it but after two hard days trekking his muscles were already aching before they had been walking more than a few minutes. Once more they did not speak as they walked, saving their energy for the hike. However, they did make good progress and as the miles passed, the terrain grew less sandy and rockier.

Stopping for their lunch break of a half cup of water, they found themselves almost in the shade of the hill, “Another hour, maybe two." Connell said, partly to himself.

“Yes," Roak replied simply and they both stared at the hill, studying the cliffs in more detail, looking for an easy route to the top. All they could see was steep cliffs, it would be a dangerous climb.

“I used to do a lot of rock climbing as a kid," the human muttered. “It doesn't look too bad." Though he did not mention the fact that when he was a kid he had a load of safety gear and a bunch of friends to rely on should things go wrong. He had no gear and just Roak as a backup. “How are you with heights?"

“I'm a primate pilot," retorted the ape with a knowing grin. “Covorna, the pit city I was raised in had steep cliffs surrounding it. As kids, we used to climb out to have a look at the flatlands. I'll be fine." Connell knew all the early Martian cities were built in craters, a place where the atmosphere would pool and would offer some protection from the unfiltered radiation of the sun.

“Well, one more push. Then we can have a good rest and try the cliffs in the morning," the human said excitedly. Though in the back of his mind he knew there was one more step and that was to find out if the journey had been worth it, or if they were dead men walking.

It turned out to just be another three hours to get to the base of the cliff. The sun still had at least a couple of hours left before the temperature would start to plummet. Setting the tent up a little way from the cliff they sat around for a little while. Connell studied the cliff carefully and the line along the top. Still no sign of anything that was not a natural formation.

His eyes spotted something near the base of the cliff, glinting in the sunlight. Not wanting to get the ape's hopes up he excused himself saying he needed a moment of privacy. Roak did not question it, they had both needed a moment or two to bury stuff in the sand and neither one wanted to discuss the subject.

Connell carefully picked his way across the rocky ground. Feeling a sudden chill as he entered the shadow of the cliff. However, the thing he had spotted was growing clearer. It looked like a crystal. Until he got closer and spotted the dark sand just beneath it and suddenly he realised he had been right. “Roak! There's ice!" He shouted and leapt from the rock he was standing on to dark sand just before the cliff and his ears were hit by a loud crack.

The sound was oddly familiar and it was followed by several more. Connell could feel the hard floor the sand layer was barely an inch deep and beneath it was something hard, but very smooth. More cracking sounds came as he finally realised where he had heard that sound before; when ice fishing with his father. Turning he caught a glimpse of Roak on his way to see him. “Wait it's…" was all he managed to shout before the solid floor under him was gone.

Plummeting down, the scream in Connell's throat literally froze in his lungs. As he found himself falling into the icy water of a hidden frozen lake. His limbs burned with a strange cold fire, his head spun and for a second he was sure these were his last moments. Then his foot hit something firm, and suddenly he pushed up. The surface mear inches above his head, he broke free with a deep gasp. His hands flailed at the unbroken ice. Only for two strong hands to grab them and he felt Roak pull. Pushing with all his might he hauled himself out of the frozen waters and onto the rocks.

“Of all the people I have ever met, only you could be so stupid as to manage to drown in a desert!" Snorted the ape shaking his head with a laugh.

“Not my fault, there w… was no signage. Just you w...wait until I get h...home. I will give t...this p...p...place s...such a b...bad review," the human replied his teeth already chattering his entire body quivering as his frozen wet clothing stuck to his skin.

“Damn it, you are going into shock, strip now. We need to get you dry and warm fast! “ Roak said, the ape not waiting for him to react, his paws were already unbuttoning his jumpsuit. Connell did his best to help, while his limbs began to spasm with cramps. A few seconds later he was naked and over the shoulder of the ape. Roak moved like a man with a purpose, jumping and running over the rocky ground.

The human was vaguely aware of being thrown naked into the tent. “I've put the heater on full." He could understand the words, but his jaw would not stop quivering. He hugged himself and tried to rub some warmth into his limbs. Roak's warm palms stroked over his naked flanks and he sighed, not holding back he pressed up against the ape. “We need to warm you up, or you'll go into shock." Connell could not help but notice the genuine concern in the ape's tone.

Slowly the feeling came back to his extremities. His fingers clenched and unclenched as he grasped at the ape and shamelessly ground against him for warmth. Roak's paws stroked up and down his back, driving the chill away. After a few minutes, he felt the trembling calming down and soon he knew he was going to be fine. Yet he stayed silent, biting his lip a little as he enjoyed the warm paws stroking up and down his naked back.

With a soft gasp, he noticed those large paws were moving a little lower. Roak's fingertips brushed over his buttocks and he shivered for reasons other than ice water. The heater working at full had raised the temperature inside the tent to a one he had not felt since they landed. It was comfortable. His own hands, he realised, were stroking up and down the ape's flanks. Then he looked up and found two green eyes looking back.

Gulping softly, he pressed forward, not breaking eye contact. Those warm paws slid lower down his back. Strong fingers stroking and grasping at his naked buttock. Their lips met without a word and the tension seemed to melt in that moment. Connell pressed into the kiss with growing passion. His lips parting and the ape's tongue pressing inside. He moaned loudly, as he suckled and welcomed it inside.

Connel's hands grasped the ape's body tightly and he felt his erection brushing against the ape's jumpsuit. Those huge paws on his ass massaged his muscles and then a single thick digit stroked down between his cleft cheeks. He groaned up lustfully into the ape's mouth as a fingertip caressed his puckered entrance.

He felt tingles spreading through him as the ape's finger pressed and stroked against his clenching hole. Connel broke the kiss panting heavily. It had been so long since he had last taken a lover.

“You ok, was… too much?" Roak asked softly, his wonderful finger suddenly missing and the human's entire body screamed in outrage.

Looking the ape dead in the eye he replied, “shut up and fuck me."

The look on Roak's face was priceless. Shock, surprise and a heavy dose of lust. Then a little concern. “I don't… we don't have...."

Connell kissed the ape passionately to shut him up. This time it was his tongue that plundered the ape's mouth. He knew that Roak was trying to be gentle and to be kind. However, Connell was lost on some freezing rock and tomorrow he might find out he was going to die there. All he wanted was to be held, to be fucked and he did not care if it might hurt at first.

Breaking the kiss he panted, “I don't give a shit. I'm a fucking naval officer, fully trained and ready. Now stick your fucking cock in me and make me squeal like a little bitch." Before the ape could reply he pulled him back firmly into a kiss. Roak's kiss was hesitant at first, as if stunned. However, as their bodies ground against each other the ape seemed to make a decision. The best decision possible, as far as Connell was concerned, was to give the human exactly what he had asked for.

Ape hands grabbed and pulled on Roak's jumpsuit. Stripping away, their lips were pulled apart as the ape kicked and wriggled out of his clothing. Firm hands pushed Connell down onto his back. His legs were pulled apart and he lifted his hips. He saw Roak put a hand to his mouth and chuckled a little, a little spit might just make things go a little smoother at first. Not that he cared, he just wanted to be held. To belong to someone, if only briefly.

A warm furry body lay down on his. The weight pressed him down into the soft foam that formed the floor of the tiny tent. Laying under the ape, he could not help but look up into those eyes. They seemed far kinder than he remembered. Connell reached out a hand, caressing Roak's cheek and smiling. As he felt that furry body between his thighs. His legs gripping tightly, feet lacing together over the ape's hips.

He felt something warm and moist poking his buttocks and squirmed a little, lifting his hips to give better access. With a moan of bliss, he felt that tip press to his quivering pucker. His mind knew it would hurt, but he was just so desperate, he had to feel that thing inside him. Looking up he could see some slight hesitancy from his lover, “come on, make me squeal." He commanded, pulling Roak down hard into a passionate kiss.

Roak's hips pressed down slowly and he felt his puckered entrance being forced open. He gasped and winced at the pain. It was only a tiny fraction compared to the lust and need he felt. Roak stopped after the tip, and Connell knew his lover was giving him the time he needed. It was for the best, and he knew that. Yet he still could not stop himself pushing back against that thickness, wanting to feel it inside him.

After a moment he felt those broad hips start to push down again. Roak's moans of pleasure flowed into his mouth. Their tongues danced, and Connell found himself lost in those green eyes. As inch after inch was slowly forced inside him. The pain was ever-constant but never enough to make him want to stop. Then with a joint gasp of satisfaction, Roak's hips and balls came to a rest against his ass. With a thick warm, and throbbing ape shaft filling his needy rear.

Once more the ape stopped. Their tongues danced more, as their kissing grew more passionate. Connell knew Roak was trying to give him time to adjust. However, each second was torturous, his body and mind screamed out for more. Until with desperate need, he broke the kiss and cried out, “for the love of god just fuck me."

“Ok, skut," the ape growled those words right into his ear and he felt the cock pulling back slowly. It returned quickly with a powerful thrust. The pain lanced up his spine and yet he still pushed back desperate for more. “This what you want, skut?" Roak asked hoarsely as Connell's body shook to another savage thrust.

“Fuck… yes, just ….mmm yeah, just like that," Connell groaned, trying to strap himself around that thick invading cock. Desperate to feel everything. His arms laced around the ape's broad neck holding him close. His nose was filled with the musky stench of his lover, three days without even a basic strip wash, or a sand scrub. He pressed his face into that broad neck and cried out with a mixture of pleasure and pain as another savage short thrust rocked his body.

Roak moaned into his ear loudly and he knew the ape was enjoying every moment of this just as much as he was. The dirty talk only served to fuel his desperate need to be taken. “Fuck… you're tight for a skut. Bet it's been ages since you had a proper fuck." Roak groaned and Connell would admit he was right. It had been far too long. His life had been devoted to flying and sex had been an afterthought. One night stands as and when they fell into his lap.

“Too long… oh fuck, don't hold back. I can take everything you have and more," He groaned knowing that part of his words were a challenge. Inviting the ape to prove him wrong. To prove that he could deliver a fucking even more thorough and savage than any other lover he had taken. The response was immediate, two firm long thrusts, delivered expertly into his quivering depths. The pain had eased as his body grew used to the length inside him. Soon he knew he would only feel the pleasure of being held down and fucked into oblivion.

“Oh yeah? We'll see just how much your skut ass can take," Roak growled into his ear. A challenge in return and one Connell had every intention of rising to meet.

“Less talking, more fucking." He growled up in response and then pulled Roak into a fiercely passionate kiss. His tongue delved into the ape's mouth, an open challenge to the male on top of him. Fighting for supremacy for no other reason than to drive Roak into a wild fit of lust, to make the ape let go of any shred of control.

The response proved to be every bit as savage as he hoped. Roak's hips sped up, thrusting with wild and passionate intent. Pain blossomed at the same rate as pleasure. Yet he could not stop pushing back. His hands slid down to grasp Roak's ass, pulling the ape forward, daring him ever to give him more and harder. The brute's hips moved like a blur, that thick length pumping and plunging inside him. His tight depths were reamed wide open as with each savage thrust the ape hilted.

Their savage kiss was broken as Roak groaned into his ear, “oh fuck… I can't…" The ape's body slammed into him with desperate passion.

Connell cooed up in response, “that's...ok, just let go… “ A heartbeat later he heard Roak scream out in pleasure as the ape's thrusting hit a fever pitch. Until with one particularly savage thrust, it stopped. Roak's hips ground down against him as he felt a warmth spreading inside him and knew he was being filled. Panting heavily he lay back, satiated for the moment at least. His own cock was still rock hard, but he was ever more concerned with bringing pleasure to others. He knew he could deal with himself later.

Roak seemed to have spent every shred of energy he had. The ape lay over him, his entire weight slowly smushing Connell down into the form floor of the tent. The human smiled and just held him gently, basking in the warmth and touch of another. He was not sure what the next day would bring. It could be good news and a swift rescue. Most likely it would be learning to accept that the next few days would be their last and a discussion on the merits of dying slowly or quickly.

The human increased his grip on his lover and used the warmth and presence to drive away such thoughts. He closed his eyes and he was back home. In his old apartment. Laying under a new lover, with nothing before him but the excitement of discovering more about each other. Finding out what turned him on and learning what brought them both pleasure.

With the ape's arms around him, his weight on top and Roak's softening dick still inside him, Connell found peaceful sleep. The temperature outside plummeted and his wet clothes began a frozen block where they had left them. For the one night, the two had peaceful and blissful post-coital slumber. It even held the bad dreams at bay long enough.

Connell woke and he shivered just a little. Roak's warm fur was gone. So was his body. The tent was light with the sunlight filling it. Connell moved and then gave a sharp gasp, as his ass reminded him of what he told Roak to do to him last night. Fun it had been but he knew that every step he took for the day would bring a painful, but not an unwelcome reminder of the previous night. While he moved to the tent's door and peeked out at the world. To see if he could spot the ape.

He was not hard to see, and he was not far away. Roak was returning to the camp, with a frozen solid jumpsuit in his paws. The ape smiled as he arrived and tapped the human's clothes against a rock, “might take a while to get these thawed and dried. You should probably stay inside, though if you want to wander around naked you can. It'd certainly improve the view."

“I think I have done my share of freezing to death on this planet, for now at least. Though I'm happy to keep the view pretty inside this tent while my clothes defrost and dry. If you would care to join me," the human replied with a smile. His aching ass told him that a second round would be inadvisable. However, he'd done so many inadvisable things since he first laid eyes of Roak, what harm could there be in one more.

Roak gave a slight smile, but shook his head, “tempting offer. However, we came here to find out what's on top of this hill and I intend to do just that. I'll be back before sundown, whatever I find up there."

For a moment, Connell sat in shock. He knew it made all the sense in the world. That did not change how much he hated that he would not find out first-hand. Somehow it seemed more important to find out if they were dead or not with his own eyes. “I… guess that makes sense. I mean, if I was in your position I'd be going up that cliff myself."

“And if I was in your position I'd be pissed off at having to stay here and wait to be told what's up there," Roak replied and Connell could see a bit of a sympathetic smile on the ape's face. “I will go as fast as I can."

“I'd rather you take your time and come back safe," Connell replied. “Kinda getting used to having you around."

The ape flashed him a grin and gave a little nod, “it has been… interesting. You're the first humie I've met and you're… not what I expected."

“I will take that as a compliment. Now go, you are wasting daylight." Replied Connell with a good-humoured smile. Though he had to force the smile onto his face. At least he would know by sundown, and then they could figure out what next. Whatever that meant.

“Ok, don't go wandering off while I'm away and no more swimming, the pool is off-limits you understand?" Roak replied, giving him a wink.

Connell just laughed, while inside his guts twisted up. Roak left without another word and he sat at the entrance to the tent. The cold air was blowing in his face. However, he could not take his eyes off the ape. He watched every step and when the ape reached the cliff he followed him as he climbed. Noting the ape's naturally prehensile feet seemed to really help him climb. Connell had to admit he was making fast progress. In less than an hour, Roak hit the top of the cliff. He turned and gave a wave and Connell wished they had thought to set up a signal. The wave could just mean he had reached the top and was going to go look. Or maybe it meant he could see something.

It took all the discipline the military had taught him to force himself to turn away from staring at the cliff. Instead, he turned to his semi defrosted clothes. Focussing on trying to thaw them quickly with the heater. As they slowly melted he noted the temperature outside was rising. It would not get too high, however, as soon as his clothes were just wet he took them outside. Looking to the cliff he was disappointed to see no sign of the ape returning.

The air was still cool, but not too cold. He spread his jumpsuit out on a rock facing the sun. With luck, the sun would dry it fully. The heater's power cell had been drained enough and even with good news waiting for them on top of the cliff they may have a long wait for rescue. Connell took the condenser out and felt free to have an extra cup of water. Given that they knew where there was a significant supply of fresh ice water, it was less important to preserve the small device. However, he did bring both of them outside and let them sit in the sun. Each one had a small solar panel on them. However, Mars being further from the sun he knew they would not be as effective as they would on Earth.

With all that done, he had nothing left to do but sit and wait. His mind running through every possible scenario, from rescue would be arriving in an hour. To discussing who got to go first on the pistol. Every few seconds he glanced up at the cliff face just hoping to see Roak returning. He questioned what the ape's long absence might mean. Maybe he'd found the station. Maybe there was some higher part of the hill he had had to climb to. Maybe he'd fallen on the climb. Roak might have broken something, or he might be lying dead. Maybe he found nothing and decided he could not face telling Connell the truth and had taken the only way out he could see.

Connell tried to force such thoughts away. However, with nothing to distract him, he kept going back to it. Maybe it was a good thing Roak was taking so long. A longer time means he found something and was investigating. Maybe the place would have some long-abandoned supplies. Maybe even ones put there specifically to help lost travellers. Connell remembered something about old way stations on Earth that had that. In some of the more remote places, small huts with things like water and rations just in case some expedition passed by that needed help.

Every few minutes he checked his clothes, turning them often to try and speed up their drying. As the day drew on he wondered if he should put the damp jumpsuit on and try to climb. It could finish drying on his body. He rejected that idea for being as stupid as it was. All he would do is risk giving himself hypothermia when evening came.

The sun was nearing the horizon and Connell was just beginning to worry he would have to spend the night alone and then go find Roak's frozen copse the next day. When he finally spotted a figure moving on the cliff. Recognising it instantly as Roak. The ape waved at him and then started to climb back. By Connell's estimate, he had been away a good six hours, maybe more. The human cursed the fact his clothes had not dried yet. However, he knew that they would dry by morning in the tent with the heater on.

Despite the temperature starting to drop, and the rather painful terrain to walk on. The human could not stop himself from walking out to meet the ape. Carefully picking his way across the rocky field. Roak was just a few meters up when he got to the base of the cliff, “what did you find?" He shouted up.

Roak glanced down at him and he heard the ape laughing a little, “it's good news… well sort of. I'll explain when I get down."

Good news! Connell would have danced about to celebrate if the ground was not so unforgiving on his bare feet. He envied the ape who had special padded gloves for his feet once his boots were off. The human assumed that was just a normal item of clothing for a species with prehensile feet.

A few moments later Roak landed with a thud and a grunt right in front of him. “Temperature's gonna start dropping soon we should get back to the tent."

“You said good news, there's an Atmos station right?" The human asked caring far more for an answer than the sudden chill in the air.

“Yes, it's not far away from the top of the cliff," Roak replied with a smile. “You want me to give you a ride over the rocks?"

“Oh, you're in the mood to celebrate?" Connell quipped as the ape shook his head with a laugh.

“Not what I meant and you know it. Now climb on and we can talk properly when we get to the tent." Laughed the gorilla, slapping his own back. Connell Jumped up, wrapping his arms and legs around the ape's torso and holding on for the short trip across the rocks. Once they reached the tent the ape pointed to his jumpsuit. “Don't leave your clothes out again. We'll want to climb that cliff as early as we can tomorrow."

That certainly sounded very positive. Added to the certainty that there was an Atmos station on top of the cliff. Things were very much looking up. He noticed the ape picking up both the heater and the condenser and inspecting them before he moved into the tent. Connell followed quickly, eager to know everything.

As soon as they were laying next to each other, roak began to explain. “Well, we are lucky enough that there is an Atmos station up there. It's about a hundred meters from the edge of the cliff. Abandoned obviously. Fortunately, the old stations had manual doors and not electric. So I was able to get inside and spent a good few hours checking it out. Four rooms, not counting the latrine. Two bedrooms a small area that was probably for eating and relaxing. Along with the equipment room. There's also a small shed and a large water tank. People were supposed to live in these places for months at a time. Insane when you think most of the time the air outside was too thin to breathe."

“Was there any communications equipment?" Connell asked excitedly. So far things were looking great. Though he could see there was a significant but not too far away in the report.

“Yes, but, nothings working up there. No power. There's some sort of generator in that shed and solar panels on the roof. However, I couldn't get anything to work. There are some tools, not much just some stuff they left behind probably forgot. We might be able to get the power working, or maybe jury rig something with the heater or condenser. Dunno might take us a few days to figure it out. Then maybe if we get really lucky all we need to do is turn the comm unit on and it'll work. No reason to think it's broken but it hasn't been turned on in a hundred years." Roak finished his story. Not as good as it could have been, but a country mile away from how bad it could be.

“Oh, the water tank's busted too. That's where that little lake came from. My guess is it froze fully and the ice expanded enough to cause a few cracks. Every day a little bit probably melted and leaked, then ran down a gully to the cliff. Hundred years of dripping to get that small pond at the bottom of the cliff. Sorry, no Martian rain." Roak gave a wink as he explained. “Good news is it looks like the crack is only about a third of the way up the tank. There's still a good amount of water there. It's frozen and we'd need to find a way to get it out, but it's there."

“It's not too late, we could pack up and make it to the station before the sun goes down and the temperature really plummets," Connell knew that he was being optimistic. However, if there were actual bedrooms up there they could have a much better night's sleep and not face a steep climb in the morning.

“The climb is not hard," replied Roak. “However, we would need to move fast and you might want to put your clothes back on."

“If I proved anything yesterday is that I can move fast when I want something," laughed the human grabbing his jumpsuit. It was still slightly damp, but he said nothing about it. There was a bed on top of that cliff and he was determined he would spend a night in it and not alone. Roak laughed, but the ape put up no further resistance. Their camp was packed up in a matter of minutes.

The pair moved across the rough rocks as quickly as possible. Reaching the cliff, Connell already felt a shiver as the temperature was dropping fast. Fortunately, the exercise of running and climbing helped keep the chill out of his muscles. The climb was indeed not that hard. The cliff face was far from smooth and there were abundant hand and footholds. Roak took the pack for the first time. Already having climbed the cliff twice that day the pe was very confident in his route. The human followed behind him, moving slower.

With every few minutes that passed both the sun and the temperature dipped lower. However, before the sun was down they reached the top. Not far ahead sat the station. Looking vaguely unimpressive. Just a large grey square box with a door and no windows. However, it was the most beautiful building the human had ever seen. To the side, he could see the small shed Roak had mentioned and what he assumed was the water broken water tank.

There was no time to explore. Roak led the way, and they both jogged across the top of the hill. The door was an old pressure lock door and it was heavy and clanged shut loudly behind them. Leaving the pair in pitch blackness for a moment. Until Roak pulled the oval chemical light from his pocket. “These places are built with insulation against the cold. However, even with that we should just pick a bedroom and stay there for the night. The heater will be able to keep us from freezing for the night. If we can get the generators working tomorrow we might be able to turn on some of the in-built systems.

“Sounds good, lead the way," Connell replied, as his eyes tried to drink in every detail of the room. A console ran the full length of one wall, covered with dust. There were two chairs beside it. There were some cabinets on the other wall, all open and mostly empty. Presumably, Roak had already rummaged through. However, they would go through everything tomorrow regardless. The rest of the long thin room was just three simple light internal doors.

“Sure, I'll lead you on the long and dangerous trek to bedroom number one," snorted the gorilla taking two steps and opening one of the doors. Connell laughed a little and followed him. Despite the darkness and the dust, his hopes were higher than he thought they could be. He had recognised one of the control panels as an old communications unit. He'd seen something similar in a museum once.

The bedroom was quite simple. However, he was delighted to find a single bed, with an actual mattress. Old foam style. Gentle tests with his hand showed it was still stable enough to sit on. A built-in set of drawers and a cupboard in one corner. Along with a single person desk and chair. “Looks like we get to share a single bed, again." He observed.

Roak turned and flashed him a grin, “do you have any complaints about that? Especially after last night."

“Complaints? No, suggestions of a deeply sexual nature, yes. Oh my god a whole world of yes," he replied honestly. As Roak set up the small water condenser and the heater, Connell started pulling open the drawers. “Did you check these yet?" The first two drawers were completely empty. The third one had a single sock, left behind by some primate engineer over a hundred years ago.

“I had a quick look, there's a small bundle in the cupboard. The other room had some combs and some bottles of shampoo. Maybe a couple other things. I didn't exactly spend much time in here. I was looking for tools and I doubt they kept any in here" Roak replied, as he worked the condenser to get himself a drink. Rationing seemed to have gone out the window for the water use, with a lake's worth a short climb down and a load more if they could figure out a way to get it out of the broken water tank.

“Any food in the kitchen?" Connell was not sure any food could survive that long and still be edible. Though it would have been frozen most of the time and if it was something dried then they might be better than eating nothing.

“There were some boxes in the food storage area. I didn't look. Again, I wanted to find tools," the ape replied with a shrug. The bed made a slight noise as the ape sat down on it. Then lay down. The heater was working and Connell could feel the room temperature rising. It had to be just above freezing.

He opened the cupboard and pulled out the small bundle. It was a cloth bag, though he was sure that was unlikely to be anything worth having inside. The place had not been abandoned in a hurry. Whoever had worked there had clearly taken their stuff with them when they left. “So we have some toothpaste, one hundred years old and empty. Three more socks, none of which match, a toothbrush and an empty pack of condoms. Well, at least we know the guys or girls who worked here last had some fun from time to time."

“Disappointed?" Roak asked with a chuckle.

“No, good for them, whoever they were. Stuck in a faraway station like this. I know I'd want to find some fun activities to do with the others around me." It was not exactly a subtle response. However, nobody had ever accused Connell of being subtle. “Wouldn't you?"

The ape gave him a smile that let him know the not so subtle question had been received, “oh of course. Even if I was stuck here with some dumb humie. I'd want to spend some of those cold nights enjoying a little cultural exchange." As he spoke the ape stroked a paw along the bed just next to him. It was a clear invitation and one that Connell had no intention of refusing.

Sliding down next to the ape, he couldn't help but chuckle a little, "seems like we are forever fated to be sharing single sleeping facilities."

Roak gave a shrug and Connell felt the ape's hands stroking up his flank, “it has not been as bad as I thought it might. Though if I ever let my mother know I slept with a humie she really will slap the red out of my fur."

Connell laughed and reached out to stroke the ape's cheek gently, “that's ok, you'd look good with white fur too." They both laughed and their lips met shortly afterwards. This time Connell just relaxed into the kiss. Their lips melted against each other, sharing sweet moans and gasps, as their bodies gently pressed and ground together. His hands laced around the ape's neck and just held him as they kissed tenderly. Their tongues lazily explored each other.

Strong hands slipped down his flanks and then grasped his ass. A sharp hiss of pain escaped Connell lips before he could stop it. Roak's paws relaxed their grip a little and the kiss was broken, “still sore?"

“Just a tad, but no regrets. I fucking loved last night," the human replied earnestly, and he found himself just smiling into Roak's soft eye.

“Not even that you are likely to be dishonourably discharged for disobeying orders?" The gorilla asked softly and Connell thought he saw some feelings of guilt in Roak's eyes.

“You want to know the ironic part? They teach us a lot of history and law so that we know that following orders is no excuse for following immoral orders. I made a choice to do what I thought was the right thing. I have no regrets about that." The human wondered if he had not been there someone else would have been on patrol. On that route. Roak would have flown up and maybe without his warning would have got hit worse. Maybe even died.

“You are… not like what I thought a human would be like," admitted the gorilla.

“You mean devilishly handsome, and a demon in the sack?" Connel asked, feeling slightly awkward and looking to deflect just a little with humour.

“Yes, that is absolutely what I meant," agreed the ape. “Oh and stupid, way way more stupid than I thought humies were."

“Ok, well yeah. However, did you ever think it was all just a clever ploy to get you into bed?" Chuckled Connell. “I mean I got you all alone, then find a frozen lake in the middle of the desert so I have a good reason to be naked and in your arms. It's all part of my evil master plan to… I dunno seduce you and steal your mother's secret recipe for… some traditional martian dish?"

“Settlers gumbo," the ape prompted generously. “Though I should warn you, my mother would not fall for your charms and would likely slap the ability to taste out of your mouth."

“Well, in that case, I better get my mouth around this before I meet her," As he spoke Connel reached out a hand and gently grasped the ape's crotch. Finding a nice firm bulge that throbbed a little to his touch. Roak moaned deeply and lustfully.

“Yeah, I reckon you had better get a good taste while you can. Not sure what'll happen once we get the comm working. POW camp I guess, prisoner exchange or something else maybe. With the truce and all," the ape looked a little awkward after he finished. As if he knew that talking about prisoner of war camps was almost as bad sex talk, as discussing someone's mother's gumbo recipe.

Connell just gave a shrug, he was not going to let a future he had little to no control over stop him from enjoying a present he had very much a good chance of impacting. “Just get your clothes off and let me suck that big cock of yours." He said with a slight laugh, himself rolling off the bed to make space, while he stripped down. Thankful that the heater was working to keep the room at a warm temperature.

He stood for a moment enjoying the show as Roak squirmed and wriggled out of his jumpsuit. Watching the thick black gorilla cock flopping back and forth. It was a very nice size and he was not surprised to still be feeling the effects of the previous night. As soon as the ape managed to pull his clothes free, Connell pounced. Jumping back on the bed, kneeling beside the ape, bending over.

There was not a single moment of hesitance as he dove his head down. His mouth opened eagerly and slid quickly down that thick cock, stuffing just as much as he could fit in his mouth in one smooth motion. Roak's voice lifted up in bliss, as he felt the thickness between his lips throb excitedly. The human savoured the extra musky flavour, sliding his head back slowly. Reaching the tip, he pressed his tongue against the ape's foreskin, pressing his tongue inside and swirling around the glans.

Above him, he heard Roak gasp and he smiled to hear it. There was nothing quite as enjoyable as bringing pleasure to others. Connell bobbed his head down, peeling back the ape's sheath as he did so. His tongue squirming against the firm length. Bitter drops of precum landed on his tongue and he swallowed hungrily. His hands grasped and caressed the ape's furry sack. Tugging gently as he moved his head faster and faster. Just enjoying the sensation of the thickness between his lips and filling his mouth. The scent of musky aroused male filled his nose and he found himself breathing in the earthy musk deeply. Connell twisted his head slightly as he bobbed, trying to add extra sensation. While Roak just kept giving louder moans and gasps of pleasure.

He closed his eyes, focussing on keeping a steady rhythm. Letting the pace slowly build as he did his best to drive pleasure into his lover. The sounds and moans filling his ears made his own cock drool and ache with need. Swallowing another mouthful of precum he knew he would need to at least finish himself this time. Though he was sure he could rely on the ape to return the favour in some way.

A huge paw landed on his head, for a moment he paused, expecting Roak to press his down onto his cock. Only the ape gently and lovingly stroked his hair. A slight thrust of the gorilla's hips reminded him he had a job to do. He pressed down eagerly, picking up the pace. Drinking in every pleasured sound that escaped the lips of his new lover. Roak's hips suddenly began to lift, that thick cock thrusting into his bobbing mouth. Connell moaned desperately, loving the feeling of a cock thrusting between his lips.

Connell slowed his head, and as he slowed Roak's thrusting increased in speed to match. The human groaned happily holding his lips still, as the ape fucked his willing eager mouth. He sucked firmly, letting his tongue squirm and caress the thrusting meat as much as he could. Swallowing over and over as the primate flooded his mouth with bitter precum. His thirst only grew as he thought of the sweaty orbs in his hands, and the sweet fluids inside.

With increasing grunts and groans, Roak's thrusting reached fever pitch. Those furry nuts smacked off Connell's chin with each thrust. The human struggled to breathe between thrusts and then he heard Roak roar loudly in pure pleasure. While the thickness between his lips began to throb, watery and yet slightly bitter fluids hit the back of his throat. Connell swallowed jet after jet, ever hungry for more. Swallowing until the cock came to a rest inside his mouth. His tongue lapped up the last few drops before the softening cock was pulled free from his lips.

“Fuck," was the only thing Roak uttered as he lay his head back and panted. Straightening up, Connell stretched lightly and then reached down to grab his own cock. Only to be stopped by Roak moving and saying, “wait." The gorilla moved into a sitting position with his back against the wall, his legs spread wide and drooling cock flopping between his thighs. Patting the mattress he said, “come on, the least I can do is give you a hand."

The human began to slide forward, Roak's hands grasped his torso and pulled him in, turning Connell around so his back was pressed against the gorilla's huge and furry chest. Those large hands and arms stroked around his stomach and chest. Roak's head pressed into the nape of his neck, and he felt soft nibbles making his moan. Between the warm firm body behind him and the arms around him, it was the most comfortable he had been since before he climbed into that cockpit.

Roak's snuffly kisses tickled as they worked up his neck. Connell lay back happily resting in those strong arms. Closing his eyes and moaned gently as fingers played with his left nipple. His cock was aching with need, he reached a hand down to grab it. Only for Roak to lightly slap it away. “I said I'd give you a hand… sort of."

The human gasped as Roak pulled him back the ape's semi-hard cock pressing to his buttocks. While his leg slipped over Connell's thigh. He moaned loudly as the ape took a firm grip on his cock. His balls rested in another palm. Roak moaned softly and lustfully into his ear. The ape's fingers teasing both his nipples softly as those fingers slid up and down his cock. For a moment or two, he just sank into the wonderful pleasurable feelings.

Then suddenly he realised what was slightly off. Opening his eyes he looked down and saw the ape's prehensile toes curled around his cock. The other foot fondled his overfull balls. While two arms held him and teased his nipples. “Oh that's not fair," he groaned loudly, his cock leaking precum onto those dexterous toes.

“Is there not a human saying about nothing being fair in love or war?" Asked the ape, and Connell groaned loudly as Roak squeezed his cock to emphasize his point.

“True, and I can't complain when your cheating feels this good," chuckled Connell in response. He kept his eyes on the display below. Watching those toes as they ran up and down his needy length. Feeling the pleasure already building quickly. After everything the two had already done he knew he would not last long. Behind him, he could feel the ape's cock swelling to full hardness and he lay his head back.

Roak took advantage, pulling Connel's cheek and pressing their lips together. Connell moaned into the kiss as he felt four hands stroking and teasing his exposed body. His cock shooting little jets of precum onto the ape's toes. The fingers on his nipples squeezed harder and tugged just a little. The pain was far more subtle and delicious than from the previous night. It made his cock throb harder as the pleasure only grew deeper.

Breaking the kiss he moaned out, “I'm close…"

“Yeah, you are," Chuckled the ape, licking slowly up the human's exposed neck. His feet moved faster and faster. Connell whimpered, utterly at the ape's mercy and loving every second of his attention. His balls danced a little in the ape's palm and he knew he could hold nothing back. With a soft sigh, he let go and his cock throbbed harder. Jets of spunk flying up over his stomach and covering the ape's toes in human seed.

“Ohhhhhh… fuuuuuuuck," Connell sighed contentedly. Sinking back more against the firm body behind him. Just basking in the warmth and the embrace of his primate lover.

“Mmmm, ok if you want to," chuckled the ape into his ear, slightly waking Connell from his blissful daze.

“I… want to, but… I'm still kinda sore from yesterday," the human had to admit, the spirit was very very willing, but the flesh was rather sore and a little bruised.

A few soft kisses were placed along his shoulder and he felt the foot around his cock start to stroke lightly. Spreading his cum out over the softening member. “Well… maybe it's my turn for that too. Looks like we got more than spit for a little prep work. Assuming you are ok with that idea." While Connell's mind processed what he was being offered his cock became fully erect, his body picking up on the salient points far faster and agreeing with them far louder. “Seems like some part of you thinks that could be fun."

That part of him definitely did think it could be fun. It seemed to be a consensus between body and mind, “I'm not a bottom, just a guy who knows what he wants and is very, very direct about it." Connell replied, thrusting up a little into the slick foot, thinking of thrusting into something far tighter and warmer.

“I never would have thought that I'd have this much in common with a humie," observed Roak as he moved, slipping out from behind Connell and guiding him down into a laying position. A second later Connell found himself pinned down by thick ape thighs as Roak straddled his waist. There was no hesitation from either of them as he was guided under the ape's twitching tail. A design feature from their genetic modification, a tail as prehensile as their feet. Though it was not what Connell was looking at.

He was looking at the red crotch and the dripping cock. Moreso his own cock as Roak descended down upon it. It had been a few years since he had met a guy he wanted to fuck. However, as he felt that smooth warm ass spread around his aching maleness, he knew that this was far from the first time Roak had taken a cock. He slid in easily and right to the hilt.

Connell enjoyed the sweet expression of bliss on the ape's face. An expression he knew well from both sides. It was the sweet satisfaction of feeling your lover bottom out inside you. It was also a good distraction and Connell took advantage of it. Reaching out with both hands he grabbed the ape's cock, and his sweaty balls. Beginning to jerk it quickly as his hips drove up fucking desperately into that tight depths. Holding nothing back.

The reaction was both beautiful and loud. A roar of bestial pleasure and an expression to match. The ape began to buck in his lap rapidly looking down at him with nothing but pure lust in his eyes. Connell knew he was not likely to last long, it had been far too long since he felt the sweet tight bliss of a lover's insides around his cock. However, he was determined that he would make Roak shoot first, after all, there was a truce on and he was a good soldier, only the bad guys shot first.

It was a silly joke, but he laughed in his own head anyway. He did not need a reason, beyond that he wanted to watch the ape scream in pleasure. He wanted to feel his cock squeezed and massaged in Roak's ass and feel his cum raining down over his sweaty flesh. Only then would he let himself shoot his own load deep inside his lover.

The pair bucked and writhed together. Matching their timing as if they had been lovers for decades, finding each other's rhythm in almost no time at all. Looking up, he saw a twinkle in those green eyes and he knew that Roak was thinking the same. As if to confirm he felt the ape flexing his ass, bolts of pure pleasure shot down his cock as the ape worked it inside him. He bit his lip to hold back the pleasure as he felt his orgasm starting to build rapidly.

With a snort of challenge, he began to twist his hand left to right, as he jerked the hot flesh. Adding to the sensations, his other hand tugged softly over and over on those fat and full ape fruits. Drawing satisfying cries of bliss from his lover. He grinned widely as his victory seemed to be assured. Roak licked his lips and then gave him a wink. Doubt clawed at his mind as he wondered what the ape had in store.

A second later the ape unleashed his counterstrike. Hitting on not just two, but three separate fronts. That long red prehensile tail stroked over his aching balls, tickling and caressing. While two ape hands reached down and his aching erect nipples were squished between four thick fingers. All while that chunky ape ass continued to flex and clench, squeezing and sucking on his cock. All is fair in love and war, but some tactics are less fair than others.

Connell cried out in bliss. Unable to form words or stop himself he thrust up desperately. Utterly addicted to the feeling. His orgasm formed and built too fast. There was nothing he could do to stop himself. Biting down on his lip until he tasted blood, only to no avail and in retrospect to his own detriment, for a bit of pain only added more edge to the pleasure. That was why he loved having his nipples squeezed and pulled so much.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. He pulled the ape's sheath back with one hand, placing his pre-soaked palm on the ape's sensitive glans. Then he grasped it and twisted his hand around as fast as he could, keeping his focus fully on the glans, on his lover. It was a desperate ploy, but Roak's squeals of bliss let him know it was working. There were no words from either of them, only sounds of pleasure as they fought to bring each other to orgasm.

The human laughed as Roak roared in bliss. His hand was drenched by the first blast of ape cum. He let his hand slip off the glans and started to milk that cock. As he let go of his own control, thrusting up with a scream of pleasure so loud it hurt his throat. Fucking his cum desperately up into his lover. Just as he hit his peak, the bed screamed and suddenly the mattress plummeted and they were both thrown hard into the mattress. Connell's cock ended up deeper inside the ape than any lover before.

“Fucking… bed," snorted the ape as they both panted and gasped.

“Yeah, it's only a hundred years old. You'd think they'd have built these things to last," snorted the human. The pair broke into laughter. Not long after they lay in the wreckage of the bed and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Connell was awakened by a ration bar landing on his naked torso. He opened his eyes and found Roak fully dressed and in the doorway. The ape said nothing but reached to the light switch and flicked it on. Suddenly bright light filled the room, “you fixed the generator then?" The human asked as he grabbed the ration bar.

“Yeah, it wasn't actually broke. Just needed refuelling," the ape replied with an embarrassed look. “I could have fixed it yesterday, I just… I was thinking of tech far more advanced. This is a chemical accelerant generator and it was empty. Fortunately, there was a few cans of fuel left, I assume in case they ever decided to reman these stations. Last night when you said the bed was a hundred years old it suddenly hit me, I had been looking for fusion cells and trying all the wrong things."

“What about the comm panel?" Connell asked though he was sure that the sudden ration bar was a good indication that there was no need to ration their food anymore.

“Turns out they did build the equipment in these stations to last, as long as you don't have sex on them…"

“Well if we can't have sex on top of the comm panel, then what is the fucking point of anything?" The human interrupted, sensing that Roak was about to give him more good news.

Roak gave a good-natured chuckle, “maybe later, though we don't have much time. Rescue shuttle is on the way. They'll be here in about two hours. You might want to get dressed." A beep from the other room drew the ape's attention and he left.

Connell lay for a moment trying to process everything that had happened. He pulled his jumpsuit back on and walked out. Roak was speaking to control, no doubt Mars Free state, he wondered what that meant for him. Feeling a bit strange he decided a breath of fresh air might help. He muttered as such and walked outside. Tearing open the ration bar, he looked out over the red sands. Thinking back on their journey. It seemed so long ago since the ape had flipped him the bird in space. Yet he knew it was not even a week.

He tried to spot his escape pod, but could not find a trace of it. No doubt it had been swallowed forever by the sands. Turning he took a small walk around the station. Connell had expected to spend more time within it. Though, a quick fix and rescue had been what he was hoping for. Hadn't he? Hearing the soft rhythmic sounds of the generator he walked into the small shed. The light was on and something caught his eye. Something on the wall. Not just on, but scratched in. Four letters and a small heart.

His brain suddenly clicked. Two operators and an empty packet of condoms. Apparently, they had grown very close. He returned to the station. Roak was sitting in the small canteen area. “I checked with command, with the truce on and given you were trying to help they are going to turn you straight over to your own guys."

“That's… good news," it was… it really was. Though Connell could not seem to muster up enthusiasm for going back. Maybe it was because he would be facing a court marshal and probably dishonourable discharge. He opened the door to the other bedroom. The one they had not wrecked. It was empty, just like Roak had said. Identical to the other, right down to a lone sock in the bottom drawer.

Pausing, Connell bent down to pick the old sock up. It practically disintegrated in his fingers. However, he was able to confirm his suspicions and he smiled. Returning back to the ape. He took the remaining chair opposite.

Roak was grinning, “not long now and we'll both be back where we belong."

Connell nodded and gave a non-committal smile." They were in love you know?"

The ape gave him a surprised look, followed by a slightly worried smile, “who was?"

“The people who worked here. I found their initials scratched in the shed, and let's face it that empty condom packet speaks for itself," the human replied softly.

“I guess you spend a long time with only one other person in a place as inhospitable as this, feelings are bound to develop," Roak replied with a shrug.

“Yeah, feelings," Connell tossed the ancient and disintegrating sock onto the table. Roak jumped back a little and seemed disgusted at the human habit of throwing ancient footwear near him. “It's a human sock… only there's one in our room too and that's definitely an ape sock. Hundred years ago, fifty years before the war and they were in love… it's kinda sweet don't you think?"

“Yeah, it is," the ape replied and a sudden knowing grin spread across the ape's face. “So… if this truce… lasts. Possibly becomes a peace… we could… meet up, maybe relive old times."

Leaning back in his chair the human gave a broad smile and a nod, “I think I would like that." Connell was suddenly sure that was not just an idle suggestion. There was an earnest longing in both their eyes. “I'll probably be a civilian by then."

“That's ok, I don't date military," Roak replied.

“Me either, that only leads to heartbreak," as Connell replied he heard the soft rumble of a shuttle engine. He knew their time together was both ending and in another way was only just beginning.

I have just published a brand new anthology of sexy orc stories, please see the information in the journal below for links on where you can buy a copy.

Orc anthology

I published an Ebook of sexy orc story series, The books can be found at the links below.Thanks for reading

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L1XNTVS UK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L1XNTVS US

I have a patreon where I post all my stories at least 2 weeks prior to public posting, plus where I post a lot of WIP ebooks etc https://www.patreon.com/sisco

I've just published a new Novella available in both ebook and hardcopy (after a vote on twitter showed an overwhelming desire for a hardcopy to be available)

Amazon UK Ebook

Amazon UK Hard Copy

Amazon USA Ebook

Amazon USA hard copy

Smashwords version

My other novels and ebooks can also be found on Amazon and Smashwords

My UK Amazon Author's Page

My USA Amazon Author's page

My Smashwords Author's Page

Or you can send my a tip by following the link below