“What are you doing?” asked Reece, completely shocked by Aika's entrance.

“I’m taking a shower. I feel hot and itchy and need to get clean right now, so get over yourself.”

Aika turned away from him and tore her clothes off, tossing them in the corner before stepping into the warm shower and rinsing all the dust and grime from her body. Reece couldn’t help but admire the view. Aika’s body was a testament to her dedication to exercise and martial prowess, yet it still had its feminine charms.

He just shook his head, imagining Naeva smirking and commenting on his overlong stare. Not wanting to get caught or spend another second covered in the metallic dust, Reece took his cue from the beautiful woman and got into his own shower. He started with cool water which felt wonderful as it washed away the grit covering his face, neck, and arms.

Once he was cooled down and made clean, he turned the heat up and enjoyed the feeling of the hot spray gently massaging his sore muscles. After their grueling work, it felt borderline heavenly. His mind drifted back to what he had just seen, and he glanced in her direction. The privacy glass made everything blurry, but he could still make out her lithe form as she too relaxed in the shower. She was facing him, and he could feel her eyes looking in his direction as well. Though the blurriness made it impossible to know for sure. He had finally become close with her and he didn’t want to screw it up.

He had enough of the shower and turned off the knob. As the water trickled to a stop, he got out and toweled himself off. Reece needed a change of clothes. The thought of putting his now cold sweaty clothing back on made his skin crawl. He shivered just thinking about it. There were various stacks of gym apparel within the cabinets in the gym’s shower room. That seemed a better option. He found a grey t-shirt and long black shorts. Satisfied, he grabbed the pair and put them on. Once he had finished dressing, Reece looked back at the beautiful woman’s showering form.

“Enjoy your shower, Aika. The room’s all yours. Oh, and thanks again for your help.”

“Ahh, okay...my pleasure.”

As he exited the room and walked into the gym proper, Naeva was there waiting for him.

“Did you have fun in there?” she asked him, cocking an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t call hammering and grinding hot metal all day long much fun, but I think you’ll be impressed by the results,” replied Reece.

“That’s great, but that’s not what I was talking about. Did you and Aika have a nice shower together?” she asked with her mischievous smile.

“Not hardly,” answered Reece, looking unamused. “We showered separately, thank you very much. We were covered in grime and metal dust and just wanted to get clean as soon as possible. That’s all there was to it.”

“Oh, that’s all?” Naeva pouted sarcastically.

“Okay, maybe I snuck a peek,” admitted Reece. “In my defense, I didn’t even know she was naked until she had stripped everything off.”

“Oh? So, your gaze didn’t linger?” asked Naeva in a casually teasing tone.

Reece didn’t respond. His face betrayed him as he felt the warmth of shame flow into his cheeks. She giggled at him, then she suddenly perked up and headed for the shower room herself.

“If you’re not going to do anything, then maybe I will,” she quipped with a gleam in her eye. A moment later, she opened the door into the shower room. Through it, Reece could hear that a shower was still running. Naeva gave Reece one last wicked smile before disappearing inside, the door closing behind her.

Reece heard the click of the door being locked. He rolled his eyes and headed back to the infirmary to check in with Pasha and Sora. When he got there, Sora was lying on one of the beds with Pasha sitting in the nearby bed. When Reece approached, he noted that Sora’s complexion had reddened considerably. Once he reached her, he could also see that she was sweating profusely. She looked pained and was holding her stomach.

“What’s wrong with her?” Reece asked Pasha who shrugged and shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he said. “She’s been feeling a bit strange ever since she woke up, but now she has a fever and nausea.”

“Sora?” asked Reece as he looked at the sick woman, “Do you remember if they gave you an injection or made you eat or drink anything?”

Sora shook her head in the negative, before swallowing with some difficulty.

“I don’t remember anything before waking up in the lab,” she told him in a strained voice. “Do you think they poisoned me because they haven’t been able to completely control me yet?”

“No,” replied Reece. “If they wanted to kill you, they would have. My guess is that it’s the serum they injected you with. I think they still want you with them. I’m sure that they are continuing to work on recruiting you and probably doubled the dose or something similar. That’s probably why they haven’t left yet.”

“Do you think?” queried Pasha.

“Well, I’m not so sure,” cut in Sora hesitantly. “I heard them talking about something called the 'nightcore'. Aika had mentioned it was in that journal you found. It’s some sort of philosopher’s stone for genetic material and it looks like a black rock the size of two large fists.”

“That’s that thing Aika mentioned from the document?” asked Reece rhetorically. “Do you know where it is?”

Sora weakly shook her head from side to side as she licked her lips. “They’ve been searching the whole station for it but haven’t been able to locate it yet. The commander was very angry that Aldo didn’t mention its location to him. That man didn’t trust and rarely talked to anybody. It’s anyone’s guess where it is now that he’s probably dead.”

“If that’s the situation, we had better hope that it’s on our side of the station. We should let Aika and Naeva know about this and start searching for it as quickly as possible,” stated Reece.

“Yeah, where are they, anyway?” asked Pasha.

Reece felt his face turn warm again at the question, but he ignored the feeling and tried playing it off by providing a vague answer.

“They’re just cleaning up. They should be here shortly.”

Reece decided to lay down on the spare infirmary bed and make an attempt to relax.

“I’m exhausted, but the weapons are ready to go. I’m just gonna rest here a minute,” stated Reece as he sat down on the cozy-looking bed and made himself comfortable.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax, though he couldn’t help wondering what the absent ladies were up to. He could hear Pasha and Sora resume their conversation but couldn’t make out what they were talking about. He started thinking about where the likely places that this ‘nightcore’ could be and about Sora’s predicament. He was more exhausted than he thought, and within a few minutes, he was sound asleep.

The now-familiar dreams crept in and out of his mind, but he couldn’t hold onto any of them. The only thing he recalled was kissing a girl with long white-blonde hair and glowing red eyes.

He didn’t know how long he had slept but he awoke to feel warm lips pressing against his own. His eyes shot open to find Naeva passionately kissing him. She was snaking her tongue in and out of his mouth, moaning in passion. The welcome wake-up did explain the last remnant of his dream. When she saw that his eyes were open, she backed off a bit. Smiling her wicked little grin, she leaned into his ear and whispered.

“Doesn’t Aika taste good?” she said, her hot breath entering his ear.

Reece’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes grew large as he realized her implication. Considering her words, he had to admit that he noticed a very particular taste in his mouth and especially on his lips. Naeva wasn’t joking. She laughed wickedly as she backed off and stood over him. All he could do was to look up at her from the infirmary bed in surprised shock. She was turning him on despite himself.

“I told you that if you didn’t do anything, I would,” she answered triumphantly. “And I should thank you, it’s you that got her all worked up.”

Reece was taken aback. He knew they didn’t have time for this, but he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. They were about to send Naeva over to the enemies’ side of Zhengzhou Station to spy for them and even steal aboard their shuttle if she had to, and they needed to see to Sora and try and find some stone.

“Are you finished?” he asked casually, trying to nonchalantly cover his excitement.

“Not yet,” she answered, her words dripping with sex. “I’m not leaving until we’ve had one last night.”

Reece gave in. He knew better than to argue with the stubborn woman. Not that he really wanted to. He had tried many times, but never really got anywhere. Not even their recent argument over who to send to the other side of the station. He had tried but to no avail. He looked over and saw both Pasha and Sora sleeping. Pasha seemed to have passed out like him, but Sora’s sleep was fitful. It was as if she was having a nightmare and she had sweat beading up on her skin still. Naeva saw where he was looking and turned his head back towards her.

“Let’s let them rest,” she purred. “We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Now, follow me.”

“We should all get some rest,” reasoned Reece. “We all have a long day tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, love. We’ll get some rest…after,” she replied as she pulled him off the bed.

Reece allowed her to lead him to the women’s barracks. Naeva opened the door and entered. Holding it open, she beckoned for him to enter as well. He felt a bit out of place. These barracks weren’t like the men’s barracks. For one thing, it smelled a whole lot better. It was also much cleaner and better organized. The slightly uncomfortable feeling dissipated quickly, however. It was swiftly replaced by shock as he saw that Aika was waiting for them inside.

She had on a kimono she must have brought with her from the ground. It definitely wasn’t standard issue. What Reece noticed first about the garment was that it was hanging wide open. He tried looking only into her exquisite eyes but soon his gaze wandered down her neckline and over the inner curves of her generous breasts. At that moment, he heard the door close and lock behind him. A moment later, hands began to slowly massage his shoulders as Naeva got him ready to relax and enjoy himself.

“Now, where were we?” she purred in his ear before giving it a lick and a nibble. Naeva moved on to his neck, kissing up and down it as the second woman slowly and seductively approached them.

“I convinced Aika that this may be the last time we’re together. So, if I’m going to risk my neck for you guys, I’ll need something to remember you by. Now, take your clothes off,” Naeva demanded, as she began lifting his shirt.

Reece failed to comply, enchanted by the scantily clad Aika, looking like a goddess before him. He hadn’t a clue what Naeva had said to her, but whatever it was, Aika was clearly more than willing to play along. As she approached, she smiled shyly at him, batting her eyes seductively. She paused, letting her kimono fall to the floor and making Reece’s mouth fall open in shock and lust. She took advantage as she reached him, snaking her tongue in between his parted lips and kissing him passionately.

Reece eagerly returned the kiss, letting his tongue swirl around hers in a warm wet dance. As they continued kissing, Reece could feel her bare warm body pressed against his. Naeva pushed her body against his back, her breasts pressing against his skin. Reece found himself in nirvana. Reece was finally able to gather his wits and slip his shorts down, joining the two exquisite women in their nudity. Wrapping his arms around the beautiful woman in front of him, he felt her hands take hold of him. Reece moaned in bliss and let his hands explore her body.

Aika moaned softly as he gently slid his fingers over her nipples, forcing her mouth against his with a passion he hadn’t seen before. After a bit, Aika withdrew and Naeva placed her hands upon Reece’s hips, guiding him around to face her. As he kissed the darker woman’s gorgeous lips, he felt Aika’s ample breasts flatten themselves against his back as her right hand wormed around his side to take hold of him.

The two women exchanged a mischievous look and guided Reece to one of the bunks. Unexpectedly, they turned together and pushed Reece roughly, forcing him to fall back onto the bunk. Instead of joining him, they explored each other for a time, allowing him to watch the display with a certain voyeuristic pleasure. After a time, they joined Reece on the bunk, the three of them enjoyed each other for hours more.

They all fell asleep snuggling in the nude, more than satisfied. Reece knew this would be a night to remember, assuming any of them survived long enough to think back on it.