The next few days offered precious few opportunities for Reece to broach the subject with Pasha. It didn’t help that he wasn’t looking forward to the conversation. The trio took a couple of days for the new task of preparing the station for re-entry to sink in. They used the time to move the pre-packed plants back to the garden and got back to work keeping the station maintained. It wasn’t easy as half of a skeleton crew, but they managed. Using the additional time, they also increased their workouts to get their bodies as ready as possible for the surface. After a week of brutal workouts, Reece came up with a new idea.
“Why don’t we increase the spin of the station?” he suggested before explaining his thought process. “The extra gravity will speed our progress. You see, we’ll be fighting heightened gravity through all our training and daily activities. It isn’t just about increased weight training, but working the body harder throughout its entire daily schedule. They’ve done studies. The increased gravity will help increase muscle mass, decrease fat stores, and increase our heart capacities.”
“That sounds great,” replied Pasha.
“There is one potential issue though,” cautioned Reece. “Increasing the gravity will also increase the internal temperature and humidity of the station. We could compensate for it, but we’re a little low on coolant. If we ran it at twenty-five percent, we should be fine. I already did the calculations. It would also increase the temperature by about five degrees Celsius and humidity by eight percent. If anything, the plants would love it.”
“Has this study ever been done on humans?” asked Aika.
“I don’t think so,” replied Pasha. “However, most experts agree that the theory is sound.”
“Okay, fine. I’m in,” she responded. “However, even if it does work, it will only be temporary. Once back on Earth, we’ll lose the benefits after just a few weeks at most.”
“That’s true,” cut in Reece. “Still, the first couple of weeks will be the most critical to our survival.”
“Okay,” smiled Pasha. “We have a consensus. I’ll spin her up right now.”
The first several days were grueling. The extra effort to do everything on the station made Reece not mind the few EVAs he had to do. They gave him a short break from the perpetual pull of centrifugal force that they used to imitate the gravity of Earth. He did feel that his strength had steadily increased between each of the EVAs. Pulling himself along the crisscrossing rungs of the station had become increasingly easier.
They had decided on one EVA every six days to break up the work. By the fourth EVA, Reece had inspected the entire station and had liberally sprayed the poly-foam over all of the points that he deemed were a potential weakness of the station. He also took the time to smooth out his added poly-foam. That’d help reduce friction. It wasn’t pretty, but it would help protect the station from the extreme heat of reentry.
Once that was finished, he reinforced what would be the leading edges of the station as it plunged toward the Earth. This would help protect against the superheated shroud of plasma. The shroud would cause an extreme increase in temperature as the station entered the atmosphere at such a high velocity. While each of the smaller space shuttle’s exteriors was designed to virtually eliminate this problem, the space station had no such benefit. The only saving grace was that the station didn’t really need to completely survive all the way to landfall. Reece considered all of this while working on the station’s exterior by smoothing out the latest poly-foam reinforcement.
He also thought about talking to Pasha. He wasn’t into guys, but the idea of hurting Pasha’s feelings weighed heavily on him. He also agreed with Aika. It wasn’t fair for Pasha to be left out. Still, it couldn’t be helped, at least not without Reece doing something he was unwilling to do. Despite that, he needed to find a good time to talk to Pasha.
Frowning inwardly, he put his tools away and moved on to the next area in need of patching. It took him two more EVAs after that and nearly all the poly-foam they had on the station, but Zhengzhou International Space Station was finally about as ready to survive a reentry as he could make it. He still hadn’t talked to Pasha.
Even though the ‘Pasha proposition’ was a no-go, Reece and Aika’s sex life still had to adapt. The added weight made some positions untenable and they both found themselves sweating more. Reece had thought it was deliciously rigorous before. The added gravity made it a real workout. He had just taken a break from an intense lovemaking session and left Aika napping while he went to check control. Pasha was there, reclining in the chair at the control console. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Anything else simply made them sweat too much. Reece just wore a black tank top and a matching pair of shorts himself.
“How’re you holding up?” asked Reece.
“Not too bad,” replied Pasha as he looked back at Reece and smiled appreciatively.
“Wow, buddy!” exclaimed Pasha as he took in Reece’s sweat-covered figure. “It’s no mystery what you were just doing. Do you two even need to hit the gym module anymore?”
Reece felt his face warm, but he couldn’t deny the obvious. He was already flushed, covered in sweat, and probably smelled of sex too. He figured this was as good a time as any to let the lonely guy down.
“Yeah, sorry about that, Pasha,” answered Reece. “You’re a good friend and It’s not really fair to you, is it?”
“It is what it is,” replied Pasha. “I’m just glad that some of us are getting some action. We’ve been stuck up here for far too long. Just let me know if can be of any help. I’m pretty much up for anything, Reece… anything.”
“Yeah, um, about that…,” stammered Reece somewhat awkwardly. “Look, what Aika and I have is the real deal and I don’t want to jeopardize that. Besides, we’ll either be crispy critters or on the ground in just a few more weeks. I’m sure that between all of the zombie slaying, we’ll find some survivors and increase your potential partner pool rather quickly.”
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“I get it, brother,” replied Pasha. “I see the way you two look at each other, and I’d never dream of getting between you two. Forget I said anything. And you’re right. I’m sure we’ll be swimming in sexy zombie survivors before too long.”
“Sure, sexy zombie survivors,” chuckled Reece. “Well, I guess anyone still alive is probably in pretty good shape, smart, and worldly. That’s a good start, right?”
“Hey bud, it’ll be what it is,” replied Pasha, shrugging casually. “Understand what I’m saying?”
“Got it,” replied Reece. “Now, how are things looking down there?”
Pasha brought up the planet’s surface to the overhead display and zoomed in. It was nighttime on side of the planet they were currently orbiting over. After countless months of dimming lights, Reece noticed new lights beginning to appear across the globe. Not many, but they were there.
“The survivors on the surface seem to be making some headway,” said Reece.
“Yeah,” replied Pasha. “But are they friendly survivors or just more bases for the Order?”
“Good question,” said Reece, scratching his chin.
Reece returned to his and Aika’s room in the old officer’s quarters. Aika was lying naked on the bed, half covered by a white sheet. Reece smiled as he approached the bed. Sitting down on the mattress, he leaned into Aika’s sleeping form and rubbed her shoulder.
“Hey, hon,” he whispered. “Are you awake?”
Aika moaned sexily before she opened her heavily lidded eyes and looked at Reece.
“This had better be good,” she warned. “I was in the middle of an intense sex dream. I hope you’re prepared to pick up where my dream left off. I really hate blue clit.”
“Well, how about you let me spoil you and do all the work?” asked Reece.
“Mm, okay,” she purred, a curious look in her eye. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”
“Well, if not,” smiled Reece. “It would be about the most pleasurable way to die, I would think.”
“So, are you ready for this?” asked Reece while he disrobed.
“Oh, more than ready,” she replied as she sat up and eyed his nude body. The sheet fell from her torso as she stared at Reece’s toned body. “Just so you know, I’m going to wear you out.”
As Reece and Aika came together, Reece could feel Aika kissing him up and down his body. “Hey, I thought I was supposed to do all the work? He teased.
“Sorry,” replied Aika. “I got carried away by your sexy body. I promise it won’t happen again.”
He smiled and shrugged. “All good,” he replied, taking Aika’s legs and spreading them apart. Kneeling between her parted legs, Reece began to give Aika pleasure, bringing her over the top with his fingers and tongue several times before she begged him to crawl on top and claim her. He did as she instructed and kept at it for as long as she wanted it. It came as no surprise to Reece that she did indeed wear him out. Hours later, they had both fallen asleep tangled together despite the heat and sweat from their combined bodies.
When Reece awoke, Aika was cradled in his arms while her free hand was resting on Reece’s right ass cheek. Reece just chuckled to himself and rolled his eyes. Carefully removing the wandering arm first, Reece woke Aika and got up.
After their marathon session the previous night, they were covered in dried sweat amongst other things. The two of them enjoyed a shower together, wandering hands extending the shower time much longer than usual. Reece hadn't felt that clean in years and they both had an extra spring in their step afterward. Feeling refreshed, they each grabbed some toast and eggs for breakfast and chatted as if it were any other day before getting back to work. When Pasha came in to join them at their meal, it only took him a moment before he looked from one to the other.
“You two are insatiable, aren’t you?” lamented Pasha, mock complaining to the two lovers.
“Sorry, not sorry,” replied Aika before blowing on and sipping her morning tea.
“Yeah, so… how did you sleep?” asked Reece sheepishly.
“A good bit better than you two, I’d imagine,” replied Pasha grumpily.
“I’m not so sure about that,” explained Reece. “It was an exhausting workout…oh, ah… never mind. Ah, so, what are your plans for the day?”
“Really?” asked Pasha, his face looking almost pained.
“Look, I’m sorry but yeah, not sorry,” blurted Reece. “Look, we’re almost ready to return to the surface. I’ll be your wingman, whatever you need. We’ll get you laid or die trying.”
That seemed to mollify Pasha and things returned to normal. The time onboard the station passed quickly and Aika and Reece made sure to keep their lovemaking more discreet to spare Pasha any more anguish.
Reece barely even noticed the extra spin of the station by this point. He broke a sweat easier than normal but didn’t notice any other ill effects. When asked, Pasha and Aika were noticing the same minor side effects of the increased gravity.
After a month and a half of work and training, they had gotten used to a twenty-five percent increase in gravity, so they let Pasha bump it up to thirty-three percent. The temperature went up two degrees and the humidity another three percent. They fought to get used to the new levels as they continued readying the space station for its fiery re-entry. The time passed quickly for Reece as they trained, worked, and he and Aika enjoyed each other.
Through it all, they continued planning to make their landfall a success. Success was defined as survival in this case. Now that everything was checked, double-checked, and triple-checked, time slowed to a crawl, and they found more time to be together. Reece had finished his half-dozen EVAs a while ago, so almost everything they did on the station was an intense chore as they labored against the increased gravity.
“Why did we agree to this again?” Reece asked Aika after they had finished their fortieth daily workout regimen in a row and headed to the showers to clean up.
“It’s only thirty-three percent,” replied Aika as she watched Reece strip off his sweaty grey tank top. “Besides, it seems to be working, at least on you. I think your six-pack has become an eight-pack.”
Reece couldn’t argue. He was in great shape before, but he had now acclimated to a third more gravity than normal. He could see the differences in their physiology. All three had gained noticeable muscle mass and they seemingly had no excess fat stores.
“Yeah, don’t expect me to be able to keep this up once we’re on the surface. We’ll be too busy trying to survive to have time for daily workouts,” Reece explained to her.
Aika laughed. “Don’t worry, I love you for more than just your big muscles and rock-hard abs,” she teased.
“Hah, hah, hah,” came Reece’s sarcastic rebuttal. “By the way, you’re looking even more toned than usual yourself.”
They watched each other as they stripped down for their shower. Despite his fatigue, he found that he needed her right then. She must have felt the same because she walked right up to him and kissed him passionately. They ended up extending their workout for another half an hour before they decided they’d better shower. Reece couldn’t explain it, but he felt better and better each day, especially after sex.
“We should end every workout like that,” breathed Aika.
“I think I could wrap my head around that,” laughed Reece in agreement.
Hopping in, they continued their sexual banter in the showers. Once they had finished up, they went to find Pasha in control. Reece felt abuzz with the sexual energy Aika had given him. If he didn't feel so great, he might have thought it almost supernatural.
As they walked into Control, Pasha eyed them both, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face. "Looks like I missed out on a good one," he laughed. "I don't know how you two do it, especially you, Reece. I'd be a desiccated corpse by now."
They all laughed, Reece and Aika letting the levity wash away any embarrassment they may have felt. He was also glad that Pasha had seemed to get over their love for each other. The two of them not openly displaying it all the time probably helped. Despite their jovial mood, Reece was ready to get back to business. Fully energized, they had things to do before they could get off of the station which had slowly become their prison.