Fine silverware against Martian china clattered politely in the exclusive Officer’s Lounge, a member’s only restaurant just outside of the Martian capital. Hansel sat alone at an ornate table in the busy dining room. His eyes glazed over his datapad having waited for over half an hour. The exact meaning of on my way appeared to be in dispute. Raising his hand to waive the waiter back, a pair of warm hands covered his eyes.

“Happy anniversary!” a voice came from behind.

“Running late from therapy, are we? Or was it work again?” Hansel pulled Aria’s palms away. He tilted back in his chair and received her kiss. “I asked you to message me if you were caught up. I would’ve moved our reservation back.”

“Sorry!” Aria hurriedly stepped around the table. She tucked her beautiful gown and took a seat. “I was pleasantly surprised when something I did not expect to get done in time actually did. It made for a detour on my way here.”

“More emergencies at the main office, I take it?” He frowned slightly but could not keep it up. She was stunning. “I thought we talked about you laying down a firm line regarding your personal time.”

“This had nothing to do with work. Actually, it was therapy before I started running late. I had a breakthrough on the couch today.” She smiled and let her attention wander upwards. She admired the massive chandeliers hanging among the rafters. She understood now that everyone needed support. There was no shame in a mighty work of crystal and steel art being supported by sturdy chains. They could never be built so stunningly remarkable otherwise. It would be laughable to believe they could hang there all by themselves. She was the same.

“That’s good news! That’s two things we’ll need to celebrate tonight!”

“And you?” she asked. “How was work?”

“Boring. More of the same paper-pushing drone work,” he sighed.

“That’s good. It’s keeping you under the radar.”

Hansel thumped his head onto the table cloth. “How long is this going to take, Aria? I can’t keep grinding away with the grunts like this. I’m a prestigious man!”

“You were a prestigious man. Now you’re biding your time until your licensing probation ends. Keep your nose clean and you’ll have your shot again. What, just three more years?”

“Bah.” He reached into his pocket. “Let’s not talk about that anymore. Instead, I have something for you…”

“No, no.” she shook her head. She pushed a box of her own, wrapped in a ribbon, slowly across the table. “Open mine first, please. That detour? It was for this.”

He obliged. With careful fingers, he unraveled the bow.

“Just yank it off already! Why be so gentle?”

He pulled the bow free. “Because then I can do this.” He reached out for her hand. She placed it into his. He tied the ribbon into a bow around her middle finger. “There. Now you have a reminder to continue committing to your wellness. You’ve made such progress these last five years. I’m so proud of you.”

“I know, I know.” She withdrew her hand. Looking at the bow, it was cute. She returned her attention to the skilled deflector. “Now open it! And try to be discreet with what’s inside.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Something saucy for later tonight?”

She cupped her chin in her palms and simply smiled.

As he lifted the lid, a green glow crept upward across his face. An illuminating gem from the Lustrous Plains Martian National Park sat on a soft bed of stuffing. He pinched his fingers inside to lift it out, but Aria waved her arms.

“I told you to be discreet! Leave it in there! Just look for now. You can play around with it when we get home.”

“I don’t understand. Why can’t I...wait a second.” He slapped the lid back on and covered the box with his hands hoping no one had seen. “Is this legal?” he whispered, his voice wavering. “How did you even get one of these?”

“Being a big shot has its perks,” she shrugged, rather pleased with herself.

“I’d have to say so! This is…” He lifted a finger and spied the box. He shook his head softly. “...it’s amazing. It means so much to me. Thank you.” He smiled for a moment and then went on the attack once again. “Back to your little secrets. Tell me exactly how you got a reservation for this place. I’ve been told a table can be booked years in advance! Did you do something unsavory? I know I can handle a long distance relationship, but with you in prison?”

She raised a finger for a passing waiter. “Two drinks, please.”

“Right away, madam.”

“Come on, now! Fess up!” Hansel urged. “I’m not a risk taker! I don’t want us to get in trouble especially with our application still out for the land grant. I know how much you want to settle down here.”

“This?” Aria said, unraveling her napkin and placing it on her lap. “Actually, there was no magic here. I just did as you described: I called in the reservation five years ago.”

His mouth fell agape. “You mean to tell me you made a reservation for this table during the very first year we started dating? What are you, mad?” He scoffed. “No. I already know that answer. The great officer Aria, so gushing with that confidence she’s known for, would do something like that. And when precisely did you do it? A month after we started? Six?”

Her chin rested comfortably on her interlaced fingers. Like a child’s balloon, her eyes circled playfully toward the ceiling. “That very first night, actually.”

“You what?” He threw his head back and clapped. “Aria, you'll never cease to surprise me.” He patted the table. “I love you, you know that? Have I told you lately?”

“Not often enough.” She leaned across the table and kissed him.

Without interrupting the moment, he drifted his hand toward his pocket but was startled by the waiter’s return.

“Your drinks, madam.” The waiter placed two glasses of wine on the table and walked away.

“Hey…” Hansel called after the waiter, but it was too late. He glanced back at Aria. “Shouldn’t we order something? An appetizer? Or maybe start with a menu? We should definitely have a menu.”

Aria smiled. She was feeling lost staring into his dark, confused eyes. “There’s no need. I’ve already taken care of all that.”

Waiters descended upon the table. Delicacies of the Martian landscape materialized as if by magic. Dishes both exotic and reminiscent of their shared childhood surrounded them with their familiar aromas. The night was perfect.

Hand-in-hand, Aria and Hansel walked the sparkling streets of the capital. The night was young and the streets were still sparse. The youth were not out clubbing yet, but all the business folk were already home. The jutting, glowing buildings, in their pink and neon blue outlined silhouettes, were just more beautiful than the stars out of a ship's port window. She no longer had to settle for the twinkling lights that she had grown tired of. Now in charge of staging the Federation's missions, she was a city woman with all the excitement that came with that. But she was again growing weary of the fast paced metropolis. Just like her desire many years ago, all she truly wanted, her end game in this all was to finally settle down on Martian soil in a home of her own with someone she could trust. She hoped to hear back about that land grant soon.

“Tell me,” she asked, squeezing his fingers. “If you and I didn’t run that last mission together, what do you think you’d be doing today?”

Hansel at last revealed the small box from his pocket. “I never think about it. No fate than this could be sweeter. Open this.”

She delicately took the gift and revealed its contents. A holodeck ticket was inside. A devilish smile spread. “You didn’t. Oh my god! Did you?”

“I know how much of a freak you’ve become. And I fancy myself to be a clever lad of sorts. I can pick up on subtle cues.”

She yanked him along as she jogged toward the entertainment district. “We’re going to use this right now!”

“Tonight?” he laughed. “You’re not too full?”

“Not yet!” she winked.

They checked into a specialized hotel. She handed the ticket to the receptionist and received a datapad in return.

“Ma’am, is this your first time using a pleasure holodeck?”

She was grinning from ear to ear. “Yes,” she giggled uncontrollably.

Hansel was a little flush, perhaps beside himself with curious anticipation of how she would react to all this, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“Very good, ma’am. That datapad will let you modify the environment on the fly. There are a number of preprogrammed scenarios, but you can also tweak each if you prefer.”

“Does it have any custom requests already loaded on it?” Hansel asked.

“Of course, sir.”

“Great! Thank you!” she shot back impatiently. She led Hansel down the neon hall and into the last room on the left. “This is going to be so nasty! We can do whatever we want and design any fantasy our hearts desire! You really know how to gift a girl, don’t you?”

He laughed. “Just one as interesting as you, I’m afraid.”

The door closed behind them. There was no light in the room.

“Is there a switch along the wall?” Hansel wondered out loud. He groped the darkness.

“Oh!” she cried. “That is not the light switch!” She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ravenous kisses peppered his face. She back peddled and pulled him farther into the room. Her heels bumped into something soft and she fell backwards onto a bed. The datapad glowed to life and her hand fell onto the screen.

A random selection illuminated the room. Modular blocks of light making up the walls, ceiling, and floor shimmered and changed before their eyes. What was a white room rearranged itself into a Martian countryside home. The furniture was quaint. The walls were warm.

“What’s this?” She approached a window. Beyond its fuzzy glass, phasing in and out of reality with a static hum, rust brown grass blew in the wind comfortably familiar to the variety that grew back where her parents were from. “Is this…like where I grew up?”

Hansel placed his hands on her waist. “It’s more than that. It’s where we’ll grow old now.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is a replica of the plot of land we’ve been approved for.” He tapped the datapad and the house faded away. They stood in a field surrounded by bulldozers and cranes. “This is the newest housing development out by the Gleaming Crater. I received our clearance paperwork a little over a week ago.”

She swirled around in his arms. “What?” she screamed. “But last I checked, we were still hundreds of positions deep in the queue!”

A broad smirk emerged. “I may have had something to do with that.”

She shoved her nose so close to his face that she almost collided with his. “Hansel Hederon Heinrich! You didn’t do something unsavory to get that done, did you? What did I just say at dinner!”

“No, no! It’s nothing like that,” he laughed. “I’m not mixing illegal compounds anymore, I promise! I’ve been low-key running a pro-bono pharmacy hustle for almost six months now. I didn’t tell you before because technically…” he became very quiet, “...I’ve been using some of my savings to keep the operation afloat and I know you wouldn't have approved of that.”

“You what?” she hollered. “We’re saving for a house dang it!”

“Relax, Aria! It’s just mine, not yours, which I might add is the only one that’s probably going to keep us afloat in old age, and I’ve already started to break even with donations. So it’s all paying off. In fact, it turns out a few powerful people in the capital need cutting edge herbalogical healthcare like the rest of humanity. I may have saved a senator's kid or two. What they do as an expression of gratitude is none of my business.”

Her eyes grew wide. The flooding sensation of joy burst from her face and she squeezed him until she was sure he would burst from her love. “You sneaky, lurking, secretive son of a gun!”

The holographic scene faded. Hansel fiddled with the datapad behind her back. The room changed again and they were whimsically beamed aboard a generic ship’s personal quarters utilizing the magic of holograms. “It’s so real!”

“Wow! It’s like we’re back on the Century! But we weren’t supposed to do this on there.” She pulled him close again and bit his ear.

“You animal! Let’s not waste all your good material just yet. Don’t you want to run your scenario? We have about an hour of time.”

She wiggled her eyebrows. “You’re right. We should be more efficient.” She pushed him off and they sat at the edge of the bed. She picked up the datapad. “Let’s see. The setting is fine enough. I need another door, though.” Navigating through the menus, she added a holographic door at the edge of the room.

“Hmm…interesting,” he said.

She looked him in the eyes. “What? It’s just a door!”

“Mmhmm. I know what that’s for.”

She grabbed for the datapad. “No you don’t! Give me that!”

“Uh, uh! Go get into position and I’ll program the rest.”

She tucked her hands to her chest. Her eyes were wide and brimming with curiosity. “Wait a minute. How do you know what I like?”

“Come now, Aria. You really think I can’t guess?”

She pouted. “You’re probably right.” She approached the shimmering door and wondered if she had to pull the handle to open it. A hesitant hand touched a handle made of light. It provided a slight feeling of resistance as if it was really there. “Oh my gosh. You can touch the holograms? I had no idea!”

“A little,” he said, fidgeting with the datapad. “They provide some sensory feedback. But lean in too much and they’ll stop.”

She gripped the handle and her hand phased through it. There was no need to open it then so she just walked around it and stood on the other side. “Okay. I’m ready!”

“Just about…” The room flashed momentarily. “Let me just get everything into position…and there.”

The corridor darkened and a flashing red light blinked repeatedly. There was something familiar with this scene. Her mind harkened back to a time long ago when she was unsure of herself, but also thirsty to prove something. Life was exciting back then.

“What is this?” she asked as she peeked around the door.

Hansel shouted, “Ms. Pantel! Help!”

Something was wrong. Her heart thumped and her stomach knotted. She pushed her hand into the door to push it open when she cursed as she stumbled through it with her momentum. Of course, she was immersed in the scenery and had forgotten so easily this was a hologram. The crackling force feedback tickled her entire body with a static tingle. It was as if her body was being wrung through a sensual machine. She caught her footing on the other side and let out a gasp. “Oh…that’s delightful.”

“Ms. Pantel!” Hansel said, lying across the bed and his hair disheveled. His jacket was thrown on the floor. That tight shirt of his was struggling from ripping apart as he twisted about on the bed. His belt had become undone. “I’m but a humble doctor and I have no emergency response experience! Please, can you help me up? I fear I’ve hit my head”

“I…um…” She had to remind herself again that this was all a game. Although, it was a chillingly believable one. She was curious regarding Hansel’s choice of set up and wondered what he was building up to. She committed to play along and only hoped the payoff was worth it.

“Why are you just standing there? The ship’s been bombarded by a series of comets and everything is in disarray. I can show you how to help.”

“O-okay!” She ran to his side and pulled him up to the edge of the bed. “Soldier, what were you doing in here?”

He patted his hair back in place and took her hands into his. “Thank you so much, Ms. Pantel! I’ve heard all about you and your amazing escapades. I feel much safer now that you’re here.”

She blushed. Normally she would dismiss the grandiose service, but now seemed like a safe place to indulge a little. “Oh, so you’ve heard of me? What else have you heard?”

He stood up and walked toward a port window looking out into the simulated stars. “I’ve heard lots, such as your prowess in the command room only being rivaled by your ferocity in bed.”

“Momma likey!” She jumped to her feet and charged across the room with grabby fingers.

“But wait!” He turned around and thrust out his palm.

She stopped dead in her tracks when her chest collided with his hand. She looked down.

He squeezed once.

“Oh!”

“My apologies. There'll be time for that later, but only if you can save us all!” He reached into the air and a datapad materialized. “This is the ship’s super top secret…um, schematic thingy that hides all the encrypted…information?”

She snatched the datapad. “It’s okay, honey. I understand.” The screen of the glowing prop was blank. She feigned a dramatic series of taps upon the screen and threw it into the air. It vanished. “Done! The ship is saved! Now, how about that…” She crept forward.

“Wait!” He threw out another pair of hands this time cupping the entirety of her ample chest. He froze.

“Well? Do it!”

He squeezed quickly.

“Ooo!”

“Enough of that! There is one last task you must accomplish before we are able to return to our Martian home. The hull is overrun with aliens!”

“Oh, you don’t say. Quillians back for another piece of the newest Admiral of the Federation?”

“No.” He smiled. “These aliens are different. They’re a new breed that is only repulsed by human sexual arrousal.” His unbuckled pants fell to the floor. He stepped out of them.

“Sit down,” she commanded. “Let’s fuck them off of this ship.”

Hansel used a rough hand to tug her pants and underwear down her legs. Her silken fabric brushed against her soft legs. He twirled her around and lifted her shirt over and off.

“You too, right?”

“Right.” His shirt went soaring over her head and onto the bed. He reached over her shoulders and massaged her chest through her bra.

“Ah…” she moaned. “Take it off, just take it off!” She leaned forward so he could unclasp her bra. She threw it across the room and breathed deeply, filling her lungs with contentment as he continued.

“The aliens are very strong. You need to direct me toward your greatest pleasure to create the most potent weapon.”

“Yes. We must defeat the aliens or whatever. Mmm.” She let her shoulders relax as he ran the tips of his fingers slowly over her chest. “More of that then.”

His touch was gentle at first, but he would flick her naughtily at just the right moment. He dragged the pads of his fingers up her neck. As he began to pant and his body began to warm against hers, his heady scent filled her nostrils. It sent her head into a tizzy. “I love your cologne. Is that Spacer Madness? Have you planned every small detail to please me?”

“The one you bought me last anniversary? I do believe so. Huh. What are the odds I’d pay attention to something as minuscule at that,” he smirked.

She reached behind her head and pressed her palms gently upon his cheeks. He gripped her shoulders and squeezed firmly with all the right angles. Her entire body turned to mush. He allowed him to continue as their time in the room counted down. He dragged his fingers over the supple skin of her underarms, scratched refreshingly over her upper arms, and lightly up her forearms. His fingernails made her hold her breath as they scraped all the way to the apex of her hands on his face. He pulled her wrists away and clasped her hands together above her head. She was constricted. Her inner control freak loved it.

He slowly drew her arms backward. Her back bent back and she felt his soaring ship pressing against her back. “Ready to fire the weapon, are we?”

“Not so fast. The barrel needs to be cleaned before it unleashes its fury.” He released her. She snapped forward. Several steps later, he stood in front of her and pushed her gently back and onto the bed. “Lay back.”

As she leaned back, the cool, soft sheets felt refreshing against her burning skin. Hansel pulled her legs apart and dragged his tongue over her inner thighs. It sent a gratifying shock wave up her spine. With her skin tingling, she became acutely aware that she was being covered in his groping, wild hands. Was he beginning to lose himself in the fantasy? It was wonderful to see him enjoying this as much as she. She shuddered as his hot breath crept over her mound. His extended tongue parted her.

“Oh flip!” Ecstasy escaped her lips. He traced up and across her burning sun before surrounding it with tiny concentric circles, locked in a gravitational well spiraling towards titillation. She felt like she was being worshiped like the sun of old. A goddess revered from head to toe and regarded as the most precious and glowing being in the solar system.

She let him continue for some time until a beep from the datapad across the room notified them of fifteen minutes remaining. Her trembling hands slipped into his hair. Her squirming hips positioned him just so. “So…ah! You’ve been paying attention to my feedback during…” She inhaled sharply. “Oh flippity flip! No more maintenance! Let’s kill all the aliens!”

“All the aliens?”

“Every last single one in the galaxy!”

Hansel arose, his broad form looming over her small body, and positioned himself at her entrance. Like a rocket approaching the hyper portal of the interstellar highway, he gently pressed his tip against her crease.

Aria wiggled forward and breached herself. She licked her lips and allowed sweet relief to slip past her lips as she scooched herself further still. His member quickly ventured forth. She arched her back and sent her chest toward the stars.

“M-more. Give me more!” she pleaded.

He cradled her waist and lifted her off the sheets. She was floating as if gravity had left her once again. He slowly withdrew his waist and shifted inward again to the length she demonstrated a comfort with. He tenderly displaced her core as she kept herself stable with her arms wrapped around his neck. Soon she began to yearn for the final frontier. She lifted herself up and plunged his member into her abyss.

“Yes!” Thrust after thrust of her hips shot her eyes skyward as she cried. Sweat beaded across her body and dripped from her forehead. She slammed down and held herself flush against his chest during her full-body supernova.

Bringing herself close for a kiss, she whispered, “I’m finally safe, aren’t I? Everything is going to be okay.”