o green world, part II
Title: O Green World
Pairing/Group: Nakamaru Yuichi/Taguchi Junnosuke/Tanaka Koki, Nakamaru Yuichi/Taguchi Junnosuke, Taguchi Junnosuke/Tanaka Koki, Nakamaru Yuichi/Tanaka Koki
Rating/Warnings: NC-17-- Sci-fi AU, loads of sex which includes voyeurism and double penetration, also tentacles
Word Count: 16,643 according to gdocs
Summary: Nakamaru Yuichi's mission is to search out new worlds for humanity to colonize; so far, they've all been bust. Maybe not this time, though.
Days pass as they wait for the sensors to return results; the three of them while away the time daydreaming-- what they would do when they first set foot on the sand outside, whether or not they'd simply stay there and beam the coordinates back to the Sol system. Koki couldn't wait to bask in the sunlight, and Taguchi wondered if there'd be fishlike creatures in the depths of the seas. Nakamaru simply hoped that results would be favorable and that they'd get the all-clear to stay here; their ship hadn't been the only one sent on such a daunting task.
The data finally begins to trickle in, sensors relaying their information back to the ship. The planet has the same sorts of weather patterns that old Earth had, several of the sensors reporting that they were in the midst of a downpour and that it would be making its way to the coast where they had settled in. It’s almost surreal to hear the drumming of the rain against the hull of the ship; the noise is reminiscent of days long past and the three of them spend the day curled into Nakamaru’s bunk watching the rain through the holoscreen’s display.
After the storm passes, Navinosuke pings them, final analysis of the atmosphere complete. Koki sits up from the tangle of limbs and blanket, flicking on his personal holoscreen to read through the report. Nakamaru watches in silence as Koki’s eyes widen, waiting for him to translate the jargon. Koki shakes Taguchi awake, then gives them the news. “The air outside is safe for us to breathe! The atmospheric pressure, as well as the gravity here, are also roughly the same as old Earth. Yucchi, when can we go outside?” Koki’s question is a little shrill, but it’s completely understandable; Nakamaru can’t help exchanging glances with Taguchi and grinning.
“We’ll get a good night’s rest, and bright and early we’ll suit up and go. Of course, regulations state one person has to stay with the ship.” Nakamaru’s eyes glimmer with mirth as he says, “We’ll have to rock paper scissors for it. I hope you gentlemen are prepared.”
Their rest period passes quickly, and they take turns in Nakamaru’s refresher. Breakfast passes quietly, excited tension at a high as they clear away the dishes. All three of them convene in storage. Nakamaru looks at Taguchi, then Koki, eyes solemn. “Gentlemen, prepare yourselves. On the count of three.”
Taguchi and Koki snarl at each other, jostling elbows before Nakamaru clears his throat. They stop and focus on Nakamaru again. “Three.”
More scuffling. “Two.”
The tension is nearly palpable, and Nakamaru prepares himself as he utters, “One.”
There’s a brief scuffle, and Koki crows with delight, “Hah! Paper beats rock! I win! Now you two have to fight it out.”
Nakamaru and Taguchi nod solemnly at each other, and Koki counts down for them. When they come to a standstill, Nakamaru finds himself victorious, fist clenched into a rock that would surely crush Taguchi’s scissors. Taguchi shrugs as he says, “Navinosuke will keep me company.”
“Of course. Still, you should suit up as well, just in case.” Taguchi nods, and they proceed with zipping themselves into their pressure suits. Koki and Taguchi both check the seals on Nakamaru’s suit, and he inspects theirs in return. Nakamaru addresses them both. “We’ve finally found a planet that may be suitable to continue humanity’s legacy. For the first time during our mission, we’ve found a seemingly identical analogue for old Earth, save for its double suns. For our initial exploration, we will stay within line of sight of the ship; we will only go five to ten metres into the forest.”
Koki and Taguchi chorus identical, “Yes sirs,” and Nakamaru nods in response.
“Our suits will record environmental information, and our earpieces are equipped to beam video feed back to the ship, where Taguchi can see what we see. Are we ready?”
“Yes sir!” rings through storage as Nakamaru takes a steadying breath. He checks the charge on his laser pistol one last time, and makes sure his old-fashioned blade is strapped to his boot. As he stands he can hear Taguchi murmuring against Koki’s ear; Nakamaru stares at the boarding ramp controls to try and give them some privacy. It’s completely surprising when he feels warm breath along his jaw and a whispered, “Be careful, Commander. I’ll be waiting.”
By the time he turns his attention to Taguchi, he’s back against the wall, smirking smugly as if he hadn’t done a thing. “Go on then, you two,” he says, gesturing grandly at the airlock doors. “I’ll stick close in case you need me.”
Nakamaru nods once, and he and Koki step into the airlock. It hisses shut behind them, and it’s a few quiet moments of excitement as they wait for Navinosuke to open the exterior door. A set of steps extends down to the sand, and it looks like it’s all Koki can do not to run. They don’t bother with the breathing apparatus since the air is the same mix of chemicals they are accustomed to, and the first lungfuls are delicious.
The breeze tastes faintly of salt, and there is no overwhelming stench of pollution. It’s so pure that Nakamaru is almost overwhelmed, and Koki lets out a whoop, unable to contain his excitement. Nakamaru laughs, and in his earpiece he can hear Taguchi laughing at Koki’s antics too. He gathers his thoughts, and then strides across the soft sand, nearly blinding under the morning light of the double suns, to stand next to Koki.
“Ready to see the sights, Koki?” Nakamaru asks, unable to stop grinning.
Koki’s response is ecstatic, and loud. “Yes!” Let’s see what’s up the stream here.”
They walk side by side, following the streamlet further inland. Its water is clear as it burbles toward the sea, strange plants waving in the current. Koki mutters something about taking samples back to the ship later, and Taguchi sounds in his earpiece, making plans to ready the lower deck laboratory.
Shortly, they arrive at the forest’s edge. The ship is still close, gleaming quicksilver hull nearly blinding. Her wings are still pointed and jagged in the feather configuration, and it’s still breathtaking. It’s been quite a while since he’s seen anything of the ship other than her corridors and quarters.
Koki grabs Nakamaru’s hand. “Ready? Let’s see what there is to see,” he says, still just as excited as he’d been on the ship.
Nakamaru nods. “Let’s see what there is to see, Koki.” The air is slightly cooler under the overarching trees. They’re just as towering and green as what textbooks had called ‘rainforests.’ It’s an awe-inspiring sight, and they’ve barely seen any of what the planet had to offer.
Koki leads the way, keeping one hand entwined in Nakamaru’s as he holds branches out of the way. They don’t stray very far, and veer to the left to keep the ship in sight. The forest is silent save for the whisper of the seabreeze and their quiet trailblazing. So far they don’t encounter any signs of animal life, but that’s fine by Nakamaru. Perhaps any creatures are farther inland.
Soon they enter a bit of a clearing, mostly dominated by vines twined around trunks and winding through branches, as well as covering the forest floor. For a moment, Nakamaru thinks he catches a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, but he ignores it when it seems Koki doesn’t see it.
“Ready to go back to the ship?” Nakamaru says, vaguely unnerved. Koki whines a little, but then agrees, leading the way back. Once they leave the clearing and stand under unimpeded daylight, Nakamaru feels much more relieved.
After that, Nakamaru always feels on edge whenever he ventures near the clearing. He tries to explain it to Taguchi, but on his treks through the forest and past the vine-covered trees don’t unsettle him in the same way. Nakamaru thinks it must be some sort of silly paranoia, but he can’t keep Koki from going there. The least he can do is make sure he accompanies him, though.
*
They’ve long since stopped wearing their pressure suits to leave the ship; it’s much easier to go without and in their regular clothes. Koki has followed through on his goal of basking in the sunlight, slowly ridding himself of the pallor of years travelling between the stars. When he isn’t lying on a blanket spread on the sand, Koki is busy cataloguing all of the plants he can, as well as the sea creatures Taguchi catches during his daily fishing excursions. Nakamaru occasionally watches from the shade under the ship as Taguchi wades into the sea, azure water lapping around his thighs, and fishes for hours at a stretch.
Nakamaru doesn’t have much to do, other than to help Koki with his research and Taguchi haul in the larger specimens he catches. Navinosuke keeps the ship in working order, which leaves Nakamaru with writing reports and preparing the missive to beam back to the home they left.
Koki drags Nakamaru with him to the clearing once again, this time while wearing loose cargo pants that stop at his calves, impractical for doing any sort of exploration in Nakamaru’s opinion. The only concession he’s made to the near-tropical clime is his sleeveless shirts; he keeps wearing his trousers tucked into his boots, knife and laser pistol on him at all times. Koki scoffs at his unbreakable habit, having led a mostly-cloistered life in academia; Taguchi simply accepts it, having done his own time in the service before an injury had ended that.
The clearing is cool and still, and Nakamaru's nerves are on edge. Koki doesn't seem to notice, far too busy photographing leaves and scribbling notes with his holoscreen. For a moment, Nakamaru thinks he hears a rustling. It must be the wind.
Koki makes a soft noise behind Nakamaru, almost inaudible. He can't help but wonder what's so interesting about plants, other than the cyan leaves of Koki's current subject. Koki moans a bit this time, and Nakamaru nearly breaks his neck as he whips around to see what Koki is doing. Surely science isn't that exciting.
"Koki, what--" For a moment, Nakamaru isn't quite sure what he's seeing.
The vines that cover the clearing are moving. He had plenty of reason to feel unease, and now it looks like he should have paid more attention to his surroundings. Nakamaru has no idea why Koki has his trousers open, but he does. A vine is twisting itself around one of Koki's wrists, another one has snaked its way into his pants, and there are more moving in on him.
What most unnerves Nakamaru is the way Koki is only barely resisting. His eyes seem glazed, and now a vine is curling over Koki's mouth, muffling the noises he's making. He doesn't sound nearly as distressed as Nakamaru feels. Nakamaru springs into action, screaming into his comm unit as he pulls his knife. "Taguchi! Get to the clearing, on the double!"
More vines have wrapped around Koki; his trousers are loose around his thighs, and Nakamaru cringes when he realizes that a vine is sliding between them and inching upward.
Koki writhes and arches against it, and Nakamaru is shocked to see that he's hard and that a vine is seemingly pulling him off. Taguchi still hasn't gotten to the clearing, and Nakamaru dives into the fray, one hand grabbing for the nearest vine.
It's warm somehow, and Nakamaru tries his best to crush it. The vines aren't as plantlike as they look at first glance, skin or bark or whatever it’s covered in resistant to his blade. A crashing sounds behind Nakamaru, and he only hopes that it's Taguchi; his first priority is to get Koki out of harm's way, even if he seems to be enjoying it.
"Nakamaru!" The commotion had been Taguchi. He breathes a sigh of relief, and the next moment Taguchi is next to him, both hands on the vine Nakamaru is sawing at. The two of them silently work, tossing the oozing ends of the vines as far away from Koki as they can.
As the two of them work at freeing Koki, Nakamaru begins to feel strange. He ignores it, focusing instead on not slashing himself or Koki or Taguchi; so far they've managed to cut away the vines wrapped around Koki's wrists and throat. Nakamaru isn't quite sure about the rest of the vines curled around Koki, though, and he glances over at Taguchi to see if he has any ideas.
"Let's just pry them away as best we can." Taguchi is frowning, voice strained as he begins to do just that. "At least Koki doesn't seem to be hurt. Koki! Come on, help us out here."
Nakamaru tries to ignore the panicky tones Taguchi's voice is starting to take on. Instead he concentrates on wrapping his fingers around the vine that seems to be pulling Koki off. "Koki," Nakamaru starts, keeping his voice as level as possible, "Snap out of it, help us get you out of here."
Somehow they free Koki, but not before he comes hot and sticky over Nakamaru's hand. He ignores it, wiping it against Koki's shirt as he wraps his arms around him, helping Taguchi pull him away from the creeping tendrils.
Nakamaru isn't sure how they get back to the ship; all he knows is that Taguchi's eyes have gone glassy, and his mouth is set in a firm line. Thankfully he comes back from it as the boarding ramp opens. Navinosuke has the lift lowered and ready to take them to mid-deck. The doors to the medbay are already wide open, and Taguchi hauls Koki onto the seldom-used cot as Nakamaru readies the diagnostics unit with Navinosuke's aid.
Koki has been unusually quiet the entire time, and Nakamaru can't clamp down on the roiling worry blossoming in his gut. He pushes the strange feeling that he'd started experiencing when he first began grappling with the vines; now is not the time to even begin to contemplate how it would feel to climb up onto the cot and fold Koki in half.
Navinosuke beeps, snapping Nakamaru's attention back to the present. The diagnostics have finished, everything showing normal. All he and Taguchi can do is wait to see if Koki comes out of his strange catatonia. Taguchi's staring forward at nothing; when he notices that Nakamaru is looking at him curiously he simply mutters, "Sending one of the sensors to the clearing."
*
Nakamaru startles awake, unaware that he'd fallen asleep in the medbay. Koki is whispering something into Taguchi's ear; when he notices that Nakamaru is awake he lets out a quiet noise and beckons him closer.
"Yucchi." Koki's eyes are clear, fully aware once more. "Don't worry, I'm fine. That was actually... kind of fun." His gaze slides off to the side as his cheeks color, and it takes him a moment to continue. "I knew what was happening, Yucchi, and some part of me wanted it to keep going. I'm glad that you and Junno got me out of there."
Nakamaru simply nods, jaw tight as he considers the day's events. He's pretty sure he knows what Koki wants to say next, but he waits for him to continue on his own.
"I want to study those vines again."
Taguchi makes a distressed noise, and Nakamaru can't hold his own back. Koki keeps talking. "Just think, no one has ever seen anything like it before! I mean, why else do you think I'd want to go back?"
"Um, well..." Taguchi trails off and looks helplessly at Nakamaru. He sighs as he gathers his thoughts.
"You do realize that it was alarming, to say the least, when I turned around only to find you with your pants open, don't you? It didn't help either to see that plant wrapping itself around you. Why didn't you yell or try to move away from it?" Nakamaru is proud of himself for not raising his voice.
Koki swallows, seemingly at a loss. He opens his mouth, then closes it. "I felt something brush against me, but I ignored it. Then I just felt like I needed to jerk off, right then. It was kind of strange."
"Oh," Nakamaru starts. "Taguchi, while we were out there, did you have any... untoward thoughts? Once we got back here, nearly all I could think about was folding Koki over the cot."
Taguchi shrugs. "I think the question should be when don't I have untoward thoughts, Nakamaru." He pauses and considers, then says, "You know, I did sort of wish we could've kept watching, once we finally got Koki back."
"You're kind of a deviant, Taguchi," Nakamaru says flatly. He turns his attention to Koki, who is busy looking everywhere but at either of them, and continues. "Koki, do you think that maybe there was some kind of thing on or in that plant that affected us?"
Koki bites his lip and nods. "Yeah, that's a possibility."
"Well, I guess you'll get to study them more. But not for a few days; besides, Taguchi has already moved one of the sensors to the clearing." Nakamaru takes a moment to glance down at his clothes, as well as Koki and Taguchi's, and frowns. "The first thing we should do is clean up."
Koki sits up, nodding as Taguchi takes one of his hands to assist. "Let's just pile into one shower, I feel kind of tired now."
The three of them make their way to Nakamaru's shower, then end up in his bunk with Koki tangled between him and Taguchi.
*
Nakamaru suspends all exploration to the clearing and the forest nearest it; the video feed from the sensor left there only shows stillness. It's puzzling, to say the least. The only reason any of them can come up with for the vines' earlier movement must have something to do with Koki himself, especially since they had never bothered Nakamaru with anything other than their presence and Taguchi had apparently been unaffected.
They decide that the best way for Koki to continue his research will be to stay on the ship and only deal with one plant. Taguchi partitions off a section of storage for a makeshift lab, repurposing one of the lamps from the galley to serve as a light source. Once it's readied to Koki's satisfaction, Nakamaru and Taguchi prepare to return to the clearing. Koki pouts a bit as they leave, but he stays on the ship to await their return.
They're silent until they get to the edge of the forest. Nakamaru holds an arm out to stop Taguchi. When he has the other's attention, he speaks. "Tell me if you have any stranger than usual thoughts, Taguchi." He gets a nod in response, and they continue.
The clearing is silent, just as it has been ever since they'd dragged Koki from it. It still unnerves Nakamaru, and a quick glance at Taguchi shows that he feels the same way. "Let's get the smallest specimen we can find, and then get the hell outta here," he murmurs.
They stay close together, and thankfully it doesn't take very long to find a suitable vine. Taguchi holds it as Nakamaru digs it up, and they settle it into the container Koki had prepared for them.
Nakamaru begins to feel strange again, something like the curl of arousal pooling in his gut. A quick glance at Taguchi and his flushed cheeks confirm that there is definitely something strange about the vines, even though they stay unmoving the entire time they silently work.
They finish as quickly as possible, and only when they’re leaving the clearing do they speak.
“Taguchi?”
“Yeah?”
“As soon as we get back to the ship, we’re fucking Koki.” Nakamaru knows that’s not what he should be focusing on at the moment, but he can’t stop the words from spilling out. “At the same time.”
Taguchi doesn’t break his stride, and very definitively says, “Yes. How did you know that’s what I’ve been wanting to do since the other day?”
“I didn’t already know,” Nakamaru answers, shooting an incredulous glance at him. “I am pretty sure this has something to do with the plant that we really probably shouldn’t be carrying onto the ship but still are anyway.”
“Ah. Well, we should still proposition him when we get back.” Taguchi says it as if he’s discussing the weather, and all Nakamaru can do is shake his head.
Koki is perched on the edge of the boarding ramp, knees curled to his chest. "Took you two long enough!" he hollers, tone teasing. "I set up a stasis field while you were out."
That's a relief for Nakamaru. He'd had lingering disquiet about leaving even just the single specimen in storage unattended. They follow Koki to his creation and place the plant, pot and all, on the section of workbench that he'd converted. The vine wriggles as Koki makes final adjustments, furthering Nakamaru's suspicions that it's something to do with Koki that gets the plants moving, and it's just as unsettling of a thought as it had been after their encounter. Koki flips the switch and the shimmer of the stasis field halts the plant's movements.
Taguchi takes that as an opportunity to voice his theory. "Koki, when we were bringing your plant back, Nakamaru said he wanted to fuck you. Actually, he wants me and him to do you at the same time," he says, gleefully barrelling on despite Nakamaru's spluttering. "I think it has to do with the plant. Anyway, you up for it?"
Nakamaru is pretty sure he could throttle Taguchi at that very moment, but Koki intercedes. "Yeah? I think we could work something out. Don't look so upset, Yucchi. Go clean up and I'll see you both in your bunk."
He shoots one last withering glance at Taguchi, who completely ignores it in favor of winking lasciviously at Koki, and then he does as he's told, taking the lift to get to his quarters as quickly as possible.
By the time Nakamaru finishes showering, Koki is already spread out across his desk, completely naked. Taguchi is just as naked and has one of Koki’s legs slung over his shoulder as he fingers him, with what appears to be his entire stash of lubrication arranged around Koki. He takes a moment to appreciate the view as Koki's fingers curl around the edges of the desk in a white-knuckle grip.
"Come here, Nakamaru, we need your assistance," Taguchi says. Koki moans in agreement.
Nakamaru crosses the short distance to stand next to Taguchi, spreading Koki's thighs even further apart. Koki gets a hand around one of the lube containers and passes it to him. He takes it, opening it wordlessly and slicking his fingers before setting it aside within easy reach.
Koki sucks in a breath as Nakamaru slips a finger inside him, adding to the three fingers Taguchi is already plunging into him. "How does it feel, Koki? Tell us," Nakamaru quietly orders.
“Yucchi, I feel so full.” Koki pauses, breath hitching as he tries to press against their hands. “Come on, I can take more."
The way he says it sends a surge of arousal straight to Nakamaru's dick. Nakamaru slides another finger in alongside Taguchi's, tangling them together and and pulling the most sinful broken little noises from Koki. He can only imagine the sounds Koki will make once he's pressed between him and Taguchi, being filled more than he's ever been before.
Taguchi pulls his hand away, leaning over Koki to lick the whines from his mouth. "Koki, I hope you're ready, because I am." His voice is a low growl, and Nakamaru decides he's ready too, removing his fingers and wiping them on his towel before letting it drop to the floor. He glances at Taguchi and nods, and they each grab one of Koki's arms to pull him up and to Nakamaru's bunk.
Nakamaru sits on the edge of his bunk, pulling Koki down onto his lap and thrusting his cock along the crease of Koki's ass. Taguchi flops onto the mattress behind them, settling his back against the corner. He paws at Nakamaru's shoulder and a little petulantly, says, "Pass him to me."
Koki groans in response, cheeks flushing at the way Nakamaru casually hands him over. Before going any further he retrieves the lube discarded on his desk, and then climbs onto his bunk, settling on his knees between Taguchi's thighs. Nakamaru rests his hands on Koki's shoulders, leaning in close to press his erection against him and whisper, "Oh, Koki, we're going to have so much fun."
“We definitely will,” Taguchi adds, jostling Koki in his lap.
Koki mumbles something, and Nakamaru murmurs against his ear as he passes the lube to Taguchi. “What was that?”
“Hurry,” Koki whimpers, shifting impatiently.
Nakamaru indulges him, albeit slowly, by pressing two fingers inside as Taguchi slicks himself. Koki gasps, hands clenching against Taguchi’s shoulders as Nakamaru spreads his fingers wide to hold him open for Taguchi. He watches with bated breath as Koki slowly sinks onto Taguchi’s cock; once he’s settled, Nakamaru begins to move his fingers in and out, teasing whines from Koki.
“Be patient, Koki,” Taguchi says, pulling Koki forward to press kisses along his throat. Nakamaru slides his fingers out and lubes his cock.
“Ready, Koki? I need you to relax for me.” Nakamaru kisses the nape of his neck as he lines himself up and waits a moment for Koki to prepare himself. “Here I go,” he whispers.
Nakamaru finally begins to push in alongside Taguchi, the head of his dick slipping along Taguchi’s length and against Koki’s inner walls. It’s almost too hot, too slick, and Nakamaru can only imagine how Koki must be feeling.
The room is silent save for their quiet breathing and the encouraging words Taguchi is murmuring against Koki’s skin. Nakamaru adds his own encouragement,mouthing along Koki’s shoulders as he concentrates on filling him. It’s slow going, but finally both Nakamaru and Taguchi are inside, and Koki is a trembling mess between them; they haven’t even started in earnest.
“Tell us when you’re ready, Koki.” Nakamaru looks over his shoulder at Taguchi, eyes locking for a moment before nodding.
One of Koki’s hands squeezes the hand he’s resting on Koki’s lower stomach, and Nakamaru feels a surge of affection. “I’m ready,” Koki whispers, and Nakamaru kisses the junction of his neck and shoulder as he eases out.
As he presses back in, Nakamaru can feel the slow slide of Taguchi pulling out. They begin a gentle rhythm, and it feels amazing to Nakamaru. He wonders what took them so long to do this, but he stops thinking in favor of focusing on Koki’s heat and how it feels to press against the throb of Taguchi’s dick.
Soon enough, Nakamaru registers that they’ve sped up. He’s wrapped his hand around Koki’s cock, stroking him in time with his thrusts. Koki is gasping, unable to do anything but be bounced between Nakamaru and Taguchi, and Nakamaru isn’t sure he’s going to last.
His orgasm overtakes him, spurred on by the involuntary fluttering of Koki’s inner muscles, and Nakamaru groans in surprise. He falters, stilling inside Koki, hand jerking him erratically, and Taguchi continues slowly, both hands holding Koki by the hips.
Winded a bit, Nakamaru carefully pulls out, continuing to feather kisses along Koki’s neck and shoulders. His legs feel wobbly, but he stays where he is, helping to hold Koki up and run teasing fingers along his cock. Koki’s fingers are still digging into Taguchi’s shoulders, and the two of them are beyond words, gasping and sweating as Taguchi speeds up to fuck him harder.
“Yucchi...” Koki manages to whimper, and Nakamaru takes that as a sign to stop teasing him. He wraps his hand around Koki, pulling him off roughly. It sends Koki over the edge, and he shivers against Nakamaru’s chest, slumping back as Taguchi’s hips stutter to a halt.
Taguchi groans deeply, grip loosening on Koki as his muscles relax. His brow knits together as he slides out of Koki, along with a dribble of semen. The two of them look a complete mess, and Nakamaru feels like he got off with the least mess.
“I feel all gooey,” Koki mumbles, sounding more content than petulant. Taguchi makes a strangled-sounding noise of agreement, and Nakamaru reluctantly gets up.
“We should clean up.”
The only response is whining in unison from where Koki is sprawled facedown over Taguchi. Nakamaru tries again.
“You’ll be stuck together.”
Petulant noises this time, and Nakamaru uses his Commander voice. He doesn't want their morning struggle out of bed to be any more difficult than it already is when they're all relatively clean; as much as he'd love to curl up with them, it will literally be too painful to pry himself away later.
“It’s an order. You’re both getting up now, and then we can all pile up together once you’re clean. It won’t take that long. Now move!”
That does the trick, and still grumbling, Koki and Taguchi roll over and get up. They slink into Nakamaru’s refresher, pouting as they stumble past him. Before joining them, Nakamaru strips the bed, replacing the linens with fresh. They shower quickly, as Nakamaru had promised, and shortly the three of them tumble into bed, a warm tangle of limbs.
Nakamaru isn’t sure if it was a side effect of his exposure to the vine earlier, or the intense sex he’d just had, but he drifts off to sleep with no worries.
*
Nakamaru wakes to a considerably less-crowded bed. Navinosuke chirps in greeting as he sits up, scrubbing a hand against his eyes. He gets dressed quickly, trousers still tucked into boots, a sleeveless top with a jacket over it.
His first stop is the cockpit; it’s empty, so Nakamaru checks the galley. No one else is there, but he takes a moment to grab a protein bar before continuing down to storage. It’s the most likely place for Koki to be, and Taguchi is probably there to “observe.”
Koki and Taguchi are, in fact, both in storage. Taguchi is leaning against the wall, looming over Koki as he makes notes. The plant is still frozen in stasis, and at the sound of Nakamaru’s boots in the doorway, Koki turns around. “‘Morning, Yucchi,” he says, smiling before he turns back to his plant. Taguchi nods his greeting as Nakamaru peers over Koki’s shoulder.
“Are you going to study it without stasis, Koki?” Nakamaru asks.
“Of course. I wanted to wait until you were around. I want to test out a couple of things-- I want to observe what it does when you and Junno are the ones nearest, and then we’ll see what it does when I’m closest.” Koki finishes with his notes, setting his notebook and pencil aside. “How does that sound?”
Nakamaru nods; it’s a reasonable plan, and Koki is relatively safe against one vine versus a whole clearing of them. Koki stands up, making a sweeping gesture toward the seat he just vacated, and Taguchi slides into it. Nakamaru watches from across the room; Koki has joined him, and when he signals, Taguchi flips the stasis switch.
Nothing happens. He looks at Koki, shrugs, and hits the switch again. Nakamaru trades places with him. The plant simply stays still for him, and he flips the switch. He steps aside for Koki to test his hypothesis.
"Ready, go," Koki mutters mostly to himself. He flips the switch, and keeps his hand near the vine. Almost immediately, it stretches toward Koki. It kind of creeps Nakamaru out, but he still finds it fascinating.
"Oho, it really likes you," Taguchi says, leaning over Koki's shoulder to get a better look. "It looks sort of shiny now; what do you think that is?"
"Nakamaru, touch it." Koki casually orders him, but he rolls his eyes and does it anyway. It's sort of slick, a little bit, and shortly after he draws his hand away he's overcome with the urge to fuck. He tries not to dwell on it, but it's hard, just like he's quickly becoming.
Nakamaru steps away and clears his throat. "I need a few minutes alone," he says.
Koki looks at him, eyes sly as he makes notes. He laughs a little bit, then mutters, "Your turn, Junno. It's for science."
Taguchi laughs and does as he's told, waggling his eyebrows at Nakamaru as he fondles the vine. His hand is shiny with the plant’s secretions, and he’s completely serious as he speaks. “Koki, will it skew the results if I tell you I was already thinking of having sex with you? Because I was.”
Nakamaru groans and Koki cackles, adding to his notes. “I’d say that yes, our plant sort of has an aphrodisiac effect on us. We’re staying here, aren’t we, Yucchi?”
He nods before adding, “I still have to send the formal request back to HQ, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be staying.”
Koki cheers, while Junno just grins. Koki sobers suddenly as he asks, “We’ll have to go back into stasis, won’t we?”
Nakamaru nods again. “But we won’t until we get official word. We still have plenty of findings to collect. Go ahead and collate your data and run tests and all your other science things.” He pauses, then presses a kiss to Koki’s forehead. “I’ll be in my bunk if you need me,” he says, walking as quickly as possible to his quarters.
*
Nakamaru begins writing the draft of his report. He includes the hard numbers from all of Koki’s research, and attaches photographic records of everything they’ve found during their stay planetside.
Their days pass relatively uneventfully; the three of them continuing to catalogue information and perform routine maintenance on the ship. Koki had even discovered that the soil was favorable for growing plants from old Earth, though Nakamaru had forbidden him from planting anywhere near the path they’d broken to the vine clearing. He’d grumbled to Nakamaru about having to lug water from further away, but Nakamaru still didn’t want any of them going near it. The sensor still stationed there continued to show no movement, but he didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
Nakamaru is satisfied with their progress, and the fact that Koki’s plant research is going well. Koki had muttered something vague about pheromones in conjunction with the vines, and he’d just nodded in agreement. All Nakamaru was sure of was that he still had some misgivings about having the specimen on board.
The three of them had finished a long day, devoting themselves to their respective tasks, too exhausted to do more than have a quick meal in the galley and retire to their own rooms.
At the shrill sound of Navinosuke buzzing throughout the comm system, Nakamaru sits up, hand automatically going for his laser pistol. His holoscreen is split, showing the view of the storage room, and the beach outside of the ship.
The workbench that houses the vine’s stasis field is empty.
The beach is crawling with vines.
Navinosuke shows Koki’s vine specimen wriggling its way down the hall. He can’t help but yell. “Koki! You are not to leave your quarters!”
The response is sleepy, but Koki mumbles a slurred, “Okay, five more minutes.”
The response is amusing, but Nakamaru still curses under his breath as he hurriedly dresses. He's not going to let this turn out like his final mission; he just can't bear to think of the consequences. As Nakamaru finishes tugging on his boots, he shoves those thoughts aside. Now is not the time to dwell on the past.
"Taguchi, status?" Nakamaru asks, taking one last look at the holoscreen before leaving his quarters. The vine is dragging itself slowly toward the lift; Nakamaru has time to take the ladder and ambush it. Hopefully laser bolts will damage it much more easily than his knife had.
"The boarding ramp was shut at the end of the day. It's still locked, and Navinosuke activated the energy shields when he first woke us. Where do you want me?" Taguchi is completely focused as he meets Nakamaru in the corridor; he definitely appreciates that.
"For now, patrol the corridor." Nakamaru glances at Koki's shut door and claps a hand against Taguchi's shoulder as he jogs to the ladder. "The lift should be locked down, just in case, and have Navinosuke prime the engines. We may move camp."
Taguchi nods, checking his own pistol. Navinosuke beeps in acknowledgement over their comms, and Nakamaru slides down the ladder. The lights are still dim, the ship in the middle of its night cycle. Nakamaru settles on the floor at the bottom of the ladder quietly; he peers around the wall as he straightens.
The vine is less than a metre away, still making slow progress. Nakamaru doesn't want to take any chances, and he draws his pistol. His knife is already loose in its sheath.
Nakamaru takes a deep breath to center himself, and then leans around the wall. He lines up the shot, and pulls the trigger once. One more time, as insurance, and Nakamaru is grateful that there's no recoil or lengthy cooldown period; he'd hated that about plasma rifles.
A moment passes, and Nakamaru emerges from his hiding spot. He keeps his gun trained on the vine, wary as he nudges it with the toe of his boot. It doesn’t seem to be moving anymore, charred and still smoking a little. Taguchi’s voice crackles in his ear. “Nakamaru, Navinosuke says the vines on the beach are still on the move. Some of them are curling around the landing struts."
"Shit!" Nakamaru clenches a fist. "The energy shield isn't repelling them?"
"Doesn't look like it, sir."
Nakamaru thinks of their options. Maybe they can use the engines somehow, burn the vines away. "Navinosuke primed the engines, correct?"
"Affirmative. We can activate the heat shielding as well, sir." Taguchi is nearly on Nakamaru's exact line of thinking, and that's heartening.
"Activate the heat shields, then, Navinosuke. We'll use the heat from the exhaust jets to blow away and burn the vines that are closest. We can't allow any more to wrap around the ship." The vines on the beach aren't nearly as big as the ones wrapped around the trees in the clearing, but Nakamaru is sure that if enough of them cocoon them, the ship will be crushed like so much tin.
Taguchi interrupts his thoughts. "Do you need any assistance, sir?"
"Negative, Taguchi," Nakamaru says. "All clear on the lower deck." He grabs a hold of a ladder rung as he feels the rumble of the exhaust ports gearing up; it goes on for several minutes, but soon enough it stops.
Koki cuts in, a bit more coherent, bordering on screeching. “Yucchi! Are you okay? I could have sworn I flipped the stasis field back on last cycle.”
"We'll worry about that later. Did you see everything that happened outside the ship? I've half a mind to set that clearing ablaze, as well as the things on the beach." Nakamaru can't help the disgusted way he spits the last part, but that's how his words come out. "Actually, we just did burn some of the vines that were surrounding us."
Koki makes a distressed noise. "But there's still so much we don't know! What if those plants are an important part of the ecosystem? We could destroy it utterly in a fit of retaliation."
"I'm going to put this specimen back in the stasis field, and then we're all going to discuss this in the cockpit." Nakamaru gingerly picks the vine up and carries it to storage; it seems pretty dead to him, but he doesn't want to take chances. “It’s strange...” he trails off, thinking of the plants and their behavior. “Do you think they have some sort of a hive mind or way to communicate?”
Everyone is silent, all of them at a loss for words.
Koki and Taguchi are both in the cockpit when he arrives; both of them look pensive. Nakamaru feels the same. He settles into his seat, quiet as he says, "Navinosuke. Show us the beach, and the clearing."
The requested feeds appear on the main holoscreen. The remaining plants on the beach are still, masses of dark green and piles of ash and cooling glass under the strange stars in the sky. The clearing is shadowed, but Nakamaru can still tell that things have changed there; most of the vines that are still in the clearing are the oldest ones. The others are silent as they take in the views.
"So," Nakamaru begins quietly, "Do we have any ideas on what these plants truly are, or if they're even plant at all?"
"I still think they're mostly plant," Koki says, rolling the material of his pyjama pants between his fingers. "I also think pheromones had something to do with how they... fixated, I guess, on me. I've run some tests, and I should have the results soon and the report done as well."
"So far the sensors haven't returned visual evidence of any more clusters of the vines," Taguchi adds. "Most of them are still relatively close by, within 1000 kilometres or so."
Nakamaru nods in acknowledgement. "So what it seems is that this could be the only place these vines inhabit. As much as I want to do it, it would be imprudent to destroy all of them. For now we will leave them be; perhaps the vines that have surrounded us and survived will somehow return to their home. If not, we can move along, perhaps further inland, and begin to survey other areas. I've completed and sent our preliminary findings on to HQ; we'll have to write up this incident and await their advice. Does this sound reasonable?"
"Yes," Koki and Taguchi say at the same time. There's a minor scuffle as they try to out-jinx each other, and the tension that they'd been under dissipates. Nakamaru can't help but laugh.
"Let's get some more rest, then. We've got a lot of reports to write in the morning." Nakamaru rises, smiling as the three of them return to his bunk.
Needless to say, he doesn't get much rest. Nakamaru is fine with that.
Epilogue
The days pass quickly as the three of them finish reports and wait for a response from headquarters. In the meantime, the vines that had crawled to the beach slowly disappear, the final stragglers withering under the double suns.
The old Earth crops that Koki had planted matured quickly under the same sunlight, and soon enough they're harvested. Koki plants a few trees in the hopes that they'll grow well and become a source of fresh fruits, as well as a marker for where they had initially touched down; he builds a more permanent stasis field. It's not to keep the tiny saplings from growing, but to keep them from unintentionally spreading.
Nakamaru and Taguchi study the maps pulled from the composite images taken from orbit and the sensors they had deployed upon landing. The streamlet they landed near grew from a much larger river, and with input from Koki they decide to have sensors follow it in search of another potential site to study.
They pick several potential sites and beam the coordinates back to headquarters. A few more days pass, and Navinosuke alerts them when the response comes in. Koki and Taguchi crowd Nakamaru as they all read it in the cockpit.
Good work, gentlemen.
Upon reviewing your findings, we have dispatched an additional ship, the TABOO. You are to finish your current projects, and then enter suspended animation. Once the TABOO enters your quadrant her crew will signal your ship.
Once both crews have assembled, continue planetary observation and exploration.
Good luck and godspeed.
They’re quiet for a moment as they take in the missive. Nakamaru looks at each of them and smirks as he says, “Last one to my quarters takes one for the team.”
It’s a mad dash of elbows and curses, ending with Koki crowing in victory as he shoves past Taguchi and enters Nakamaru’s room hot on his heels. Nakamaru laughs at the utter disbelief on Taguchi’s face as Koki drags him to Nakamaru’s bunk.
All in all, his mission has been a success, and it looks like it will continue that way.
Pairing/Group: Nakamaru Yuichi/Taguchi Junnosuke/Tanaka Koki, Nakamaru Yuichi/Taguchi Junnosuke, Taguchi Junnosuke/Tanaka Koki, Nakamaru Yuichi/Tanaka Koki
Rating/Warnings: NC-17-- Sci-fi AU, loads of sex which includes voyeurism and double penetration, also tentacles
Word Count: 16,643 according to gdocs
Summary: Nakamaru Yuichi's mission is to search out new worlds for humanity to colonize; so far, they've all been bust. Maybe not this time, though.
Days pass as they wait for the sensors to return results; the three of them while away the time daydreaming-- what they would do when they first set foot on the sand outside, whether or not they'd simply stay there and beam the coordinates back to the Sol system. Koki couldn't wait to bask in the sunlight, and Taguchi wondered if there'd be fishlike creatures in the depths of the seas. Nakamaru simply hoped that results would be favorable and that they'd get the all-clear to stay here; their ship hadn't been the only one sent on such a daunting task.
The data finally begins to trickle in, sensors relaying their information back to the ship. The planet has the same sorts of weather patterns that old Earth had, several of the sensors reporting that they were in the midst of a downpour and that it would be making its way to the coast where they had settled in. It’s almost surreal to hear the drumming of the rain against the hull of the ship; the noise is reminiscent of days long past and the three of them spend the day curled into Nakamaru’s bunk watching the rain through the holoscreen’s display.
After the storm passes, Navinosuke pings them, final analysis of the atmosphere complete. Koki sits up from the tangle of limbs and blanket, flicking on his personal holoscreen to read through the report. Nakamaru watches in silence as Koki’s eyes widen, waiting for him to translate the jargon. Koki shakes Taguchi awake, then gives them the news. “The air outside is safe for us to breathe! The atmospheric pressure, as well as the gravity here, are also roughly the same as old Earth. Yucchi, when can we go outside?” Koki’s question is a little shrill, but it’s completely understandable; Nakamaru can’t help exchanging glances with Taguchi and grinning.
“We’ll get a good night’s rest, and bright and early we’ll suit up and go. Of course, regulations state one person has to stay with the ship.” Nakamaru’s eyes glimmer with mirth as he says, “We’ll have to rock paper scissors for it. I hope you gentlemen are prepared.”
Their rest period passes quickly, and they take turns in Nakamaru’s refresher. Breakfast passes quietly, excited tension at a high as they clear away the dishes. All three of them convene in storage. Nakamaru looks at Taguchi, then Koki, eyes solemn. “Gentlemen, prepare yourselves. On the count of three.”
Taguchi and Koki snarl at each other, jostling elbows before Nakamaru clears his throat. They stop and focus on Nakamaru again. “Three.”
More scuffling. “Two.”
The tension is nearly palpable, and Nakamaru prepares himself as he utters, “One.”
There’s a brief scuffle, and Koki crows with delight, “Hah! Paper beats rock! I win! Now you two have to fight it out.”
Nakamaru and Taguchi nod solemnly at each other, and Koki counts down for them. When they come to a standstill, Nakamaru finds himself victorious, fist clenched into a rock that would surely crush Taguchi’s scissors. Taguchi shrugs as he says, “Navinosuke will keep me company.”
“Of course. Still, you should suit up as well, just in case.” Taguchi nods, and they proceed with zipping themselves into their pressure suits. Koki and Taguchi both check the seals on Nakamaru’s suit, and he inspects theirs in return. Nakamaru addresses them both. “We’ve finally found a planet that may be suitable to continue humanity’s legacy. For the first time during our mission, we’ve found a seemingly identical analogue for old Earth, save for its double suns. For our initial exploration, we will stay within line of sight of the ship; we will only go five to ten metres into the forest.”
Koki and Taguchi chorus identical, “Yes sirs,” and Nakamaru nods in response.
“Our suits will record environmental information, and our earpieces are equipped to beam video feed back to the ship, where Taguchi can see what we see. Are we ready?”
“Yes sir!” rings through storage as Nakamaru takes a steadying breath. He checks the charge on his laser pistol one last time, and makes sure his old-fashioned blade is strapped to his boot. As he stands he can hear Taguchi murmuring against Koki’s ear; Nakamaru stares at the boarding ramp controls to try and give them some privacy. It’s completely surprising when he feels warm breath along his jaw and a whispered, “Be careful, Commander. I’ll be waiting.”
By the time he turns his attention to Taguchi, he’s back against the wall, smirking smugly as if he hadn’t done a thing. “Go on then, you two,” he says, gesturing grandly at the airlock doors. “I’ll stick close in case you need me.”
Nakamaru nods once, and he and Koki step into the airlock. It hisses shut behind them, and it’s a few quiet moments of excitement as they wait for Navinosuke to open the exterior door. A set of steps extends down to the sand, and it looks like it’s all Koki can do not to run. They don’t bother with the breathing apparatus since the air is the same mix of chemicals they are accustomed to, and the first lungfuls are delicious.
The breeze tastes faintly of salt, and there is no overwhelming stench of pollution. It’s so pure that Nakamaru is almost overwhelmed, and Koki lets out a whoop, unable to contain his excitement. Nakamaru laughs, and in his earpiece he can hear Taguchi laughing at Koki’s antics too. He gathers his thoughts, and then strides across the soft sand, nearly blinding under the morning light of the double suns, to stand next to Koki.
“Ready to see the sights, Koki?” Nakamaru asks, unable to stop grinning.
Koki’s response is ecstatic, and loud. “Yes!” Let’s see what’s up the stream here.”
They walk side by side, following the streamlet further inland. Its water is clear as it burbles toward the sea, strange plants waving in the current. Koki mutters something about taking samples back to the ship later, and Taguchi sounds in his earpiece, making plans to ready the lower deck laboratory.
Shortly, they arrive at the forest’s edge. The ship is still close, gleaming quicksilver hull nearly blinding. Her wings are still pointed and jagged in the feather configuration, and it’s still breathtaking. It’s been quite a while since he’s seen anything of the ship other than her corridors and quarters.
Koki grabs Nakamaru’s hand. “Ready? Let’s see what there is to see,” he says, still just as excited as he’d been on the ship.
Nakamaru nods. “Let’s see what there is to see, Koki.” The air is slightly cooler under the overarching trees. They’re just as towering and green as what textbooks had called ‘rainforests.’ It’s an awe-inspiring sight, and they’ve barely seen any of what the planet had to offer.
Koki leads the way, keeping one hand entwined in Nakamaru’s as he holds branches out of the way. They don’t stray very far, and veer to the left to keep the ship in sight. The forest is silent save for the whisper of the seabreeze and their quiet trailblazing. So far they don’t encounter any signs of animal life, but that’s fine by Nakamaru. Perhaps any creatures are farther inland.
Soon they enter a bit of a clearing, mostly dominated by vines twined around trunks and winding through branches, as well as covering the forest floor. For a moment, Nakamaru thinks he catches a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, but he ignores it when it seems Koki doesn’t see it.
“Ready to go back to the ship?” Nakamaru says, vaguely unnerved. Koki whines a little, but then agrees, leading the way back. Once they leave the clearing and stand under unimpeded daylight, Nakamaru feels much more relieved.
After that, Nakamaru always feels on edge whenever he ventures near the clearing. He tries to explain it to Taguchi, but on his treks through the forest and past the vine-covered trees don’t unsettle him in the same way. Nakamaru thinks it must be some sort of silly paranoia, but he can’t keep Koki from going there. The least he can do is make sure he accompanies him, though.
*
They’ve long since stopped wearing their pressure suits to leave the ship; it’s much easier to go without and in their regular clothes. Koki has followed through on his goal of basking in the sunlight, slowly ridding himself of the pallor of years travelling between the stars. When he isn’t lying on a blanket spread on the sand, Koki is busy cataloguing all of the plants he can, as well as the sea creatures Taguchi catches during his daily fishing excursions. Nakamaru occasionally watches from the shade under the ship as Taguchi wades into the sea, azure water lapping around his thighs, and fishes for hours at a stretch.
Nakamaru doesn’t have much to do, other than to help Koki with his research and Taguchi haul in the larger specimens he catches. Navinosuke keeps the ship in working order, which leaves Nakamaru with writing reports and preparing the missive to beam back to the home they left.
Koki drags Nakamaru with him to the clearing once again, this time while wearing loose cargo pants that stop at his calves, impractical for doing any sort of exploration in Nakamaru’s opinion. The only concession he’s made to the near-tropical clime is his sleeveless shirts; he keeps wearing his trousers tucked into his boots, knife and laser pistol on him at all times. Koki scoffs at his unbreakable habit, having led a mostly-cloistered life in academia; Taguchi simply accepts it, having done his own time in the service before an injury had ended that.
The clearing is cool and still, and Nakamaru's nerves are on edge. Koki doesn't seem to notice, far too busy photographing leaves and scribbling notes with his holoscreen. For a moment, Nakamaru thinks he hears a rustling. It must be the wind.
Koki makes a soft noise behind Nakamaru, almost inaudible. He can't help but wonder what's so interesting about plants, other than the cyan leaves of Koki's current subject. Koki moans a bit this time, and Nakamaru nearly breaks his neck as he whips around to see what Koki is doing. Surely science isn't that exciting.
"Koki, what--" For a moment, Nakamaru isn't quite sure what he's seeing.
The vines that cover the clearing are moving. He had plenty of reason to feel unease, and now it looks like he should have paid more attention to his surroundings. Nakamaru has no idea why Koki has his trousers open, but he does. A vine is twisting itself around one of Koki's wrists, another one has snaked its way into his pants, and there are more moving in on him.
What most unnerves Nakamaru is the way Koki is only barely resisting. His eyes seem glazed, and now a vine is curling over Koki's mouth, muffling the noises he's making. He doesn't sound nearly as distressed as Nakamaru feels. Nakamaru springs into action, screaming into his comm unit as he pulls his knife. "Taguchi! Get to the clearing, on the double!"
More vines have wrapped around Koki; his trousers are loose around his thighs, and Nakamaru cringes when he realizes that a vine is sliding between them and inching upward.
Koki writhes and arches against it, and Nakamaru is shocked to see that he's hard and that a vine is seemingly pulling him off. Taguchi still hasn't gotten to the clearing, and Nakamaru dives into the fray, one hand grabbing for the nearest vine.
It's warm somehow, and Nakamaru tries his best to crush it. The vines aren't as plantlike as they look at first glance, skin or bark or whatever it’s covered in resistant to his blade. A crashing sounds behind Nakamaru, and he only hopes that it's Taguchi; his first priority is to get Koki out of harm's way, even if he seems to be enjoying it.
"Nakamaru!" The commotion had been Taguchi. He breathes a sigh of relief, and the next moment Taguchi is next to him, both hands on the vine Nakamaru is sawing at. The two of them silently work, tossing the oozing ends of the vines as far away from Koki as they can.
As the two of them work at freeing Koki, Nakamaru begins to feel strange. He ignores it, focusing instead on not slashing himself or Koki or Taguchi; so far they've managed to cut away the vines wrapped around Koki's wrists and throat. Nakamaru isn't quite sure about the rest of the vines curled around Koki, though, and he glances over at Taguchi to see if he has any ideas.
"Let's just pry them away as best we can." Taguchi is frowning, voice strained as he begins to do just that. "At least Koki doesn't seem to be hurt. Koki! Come on, help us out here."
Nakamaru tries to ignore the panicky tones Taguchi's voice is starting to take on. Instead he concentrates on wrapping his fingers around the vine that seems to be pulling Koki off. "Koki," Nakamaru starts, keeping his voice as level as possible, "Snap out of it, help us get you out of here."
Somehow they free Koki, but not before he comes hot and sticky over Nakamaru's hand. He ignores it, wiping it against Koki's shirt as he wraps his arms around him, helping Taguchi pull him away from the creeping tendrils.
Nakamaru isn't sure how they get back to the ship; all he knows is that Taguchi's eyes have gone glassy, and his mouth is set in a firm line. Thankfully he comes back from it as the boarding ramp opens. Navinosuke has the lift lowered and ready to take them to mid-deck. The doors to the medbay are already wide open, and Taguchi hauls Koki onto the seldom-used cot as Nakamaru readies the diagnostics unit with Navinosuke's aid.
Koki has been unusually quiet the entire time, and Nakamaru can't clamp down on the roiling worry blossoming in his gut. He pushes the strange feeling that he'd started experiencing when he first began grappling with the vines; now is not the time to even begin to contemplate how it would feel to climb up onto the cot and fold Koki in half.
Navinosuke beeps, snapping Nakamaru's attention back to the present. The diagnostics have finished, everything showing normal. All he and Taguchi can do is wait to see if Koki comes out of his strange catatonia. Taguchi's staring forward at nothing; when he notices that Nakamaru is looking at him curiously he simply mutters, "Sending one of the sensors to the clearing."
*
Nakamaru startles awake, unaware that he'd fallen asleep in the medbay. Koki is whispering something into Taguchi's ear; when he notices that Nakamaru is awake he lets out a quiet noise and beckons him closer.
"Yucchi." Koki's eyes are clear, fully aware once more. "Don't worry, I'm fine. That was actually... kind of fun." His gaze slides off to the side as his cheeks color, and it takes him a moment to continue. "I knew what was happening, Yucchi, and some part of me wanted it to keep going. I'm glad that you and Junno got me out of there."
Nakamaru simply nods, jaw tight as he considers the day's events. He's pretty sure he knows what Koki wants to say next, but he waits for him to continue on his own.
"I want to study those vines again."
Taguchi makes a distressed noise, and Nakamaru can't hold his own back. Koki keeps talking. "Just think, no one has ever seen anything like it before! I mean, why else do you think I'd want to go back?"
"Um, well..." Taguchi trails off and looks helplessly at Nakamaru. He sighs as he gathers his thoughts.
"You do realize that it was alarming, to say the least, when I turned around only to find you with your pants open, don't you? It didn't help either to see that plant wrapping itself around you. Why didn't you yell or try to move away from it?" Nakamaru is proud of himself for not raising his voice.
Koki swallows, seemingly at a loss. He opens his mouth, then closes it. "I felt something brush against me, but I ignored it. Then I just felt like I needed to jerk off, right then. It was kind of strange."
"Oh," Nakamaru starts. "Taguchi, while we were out there, did you have any... untoward thoughts? Once we got back here, nearly all I could think about was folding Koki over the cot."
Taguchi shrugs. "I think the question should be when don't I have untoward thoughts, Nakamaru." He pauses and considers, then says, "You know, I did sort of wish we could've kept watching, once we finally got Koki back."
"You're kind of a deviant, Taguchi," Nakamaru says flatly. He turns his attention to Koki, who is busy looking everywhere but at either of them, and continues. "Koki, do you think that maybe there was some kind of thing on or in that plant that affected us?"
Koki bites his lip and nods. "Yeah, that's a possibility."
"Well, I guess you'll get to study them more. But not for a few days; besides, Taguchi has already moved one of the sensors to the clearing." Nakamaru takes a moment to glance down at his clothes, as well as Koki and Taguchi's, and frowns. "The first thing we should do is clean up."
Koki sits up, nodding as Taguchi takes one of his hands to assist. "Let's just pile into one shower, I feel kind of tired now."
The three of them make their way to Nakamaru's shower, then end up in his bunk with Koki tangled between him and Taguchi.
*
Nakamaru suspends all exploration to the clearing and the forest nearest it; the video feed from the sensor left there only shows stillness. It's puzzling, to say the least. The only reason any of them can come up with for the vines' earlier movement must have something to do with Koki himself, especially since they had never bothered Nakamaru with anything other than their presence and Taguchi had apparently been unaffected.
They decide that the best way for Koki to continue his research will be to stay on the ship and only deal with one plant. Taguchi partitions off a section of storage for a makeshift lab, repurposing one of the lamps from the galley to serve as a light source. Once it's readied to Koki's satisfaction, Nakamaru and Taguchi prepare to return to the clearing. Koki pouts a bit as they leave, but he stays on the ship to await their return.
They're silent until they get to the edge of the forest. Nakamaru holds an arm out to stop Taguchi. When he has the other's attention, he speaks. "Tell me if you have any stranger than usual thoughts, Taguchi." He gets a nod in response, and they continue.
The clearing is silent, just as it has been ever since they'd dragged Koki from it. It still unnerves Nakamaru, and a quick glance at Taguchi shows that he feels the same way. "Let's get the smallest specimen we can find, and then get the hell outta here," he murmurs.
They stay close together, and thankfully it doesn't take very long to find a suitable vine. Taguchi holds it as Nakamaru digs it up, and they settle it into the container Koki had prepared for them.
Nakamaru begins to feel strange again, something like the curl of arousal pooling in his gut. A quick glance at Taguchi and his flushed cheeks confirm that there is definitely something strange about the vines, even though they stay unmoving the entire time they silently work.
They finish as quickly as possible, and only when they’re leaving the clearing do they speak.
“Taguchi?”
“Yeah?”
“As soon as we get back to the ship, we’re fucking Koki.” Nakamaru knows that’s not what he should be focusing on at the moment, but he can’t stop the words from spilling out. “At the same time.”
Taguchi doesn’t break his stride, and very definitively says, “Yes. How did you know that’s what I’ve been wanting to do since the other day?”
“I didn’t already know,” Nakamaru answers, shooting an incredulous glance at him. “I am pretty sure this has something to do with the plant that we really probably shouldn’t be carrying onto the ship but still are anyway.”
“Ah. Well, we should still proposition him when we get back.” Taguchi says it as if he’s discussing the weather, and all Nakamaru can do is shake his head.
Koki is perched on the edge of the boarding ramp, knees curled to his chest. "Took you two long enough!" he hollers, tone teasing. "I set up a stasis field while you were out."
That's a relief for Nakamaru. He'd had lingering disquiet about leaving even just the single specimen in storage unattended. They follow Koki to his creation and place the plant, pot and all, on the section of workbench that he'd converted. The vine wriggles as Koki makes final adjustments, furthering Nakamaru's suspicions that it's something to do with Koki that gets the plants moving, and it's just as unsettling of a thought as it had been after their encounter. Koki flips the switch and the shimmer of the stasis field halts the plant's movements.
Taguchi takes that as an opportunity to voice his theory. "Koki, when we were bringing your plant back, Nakamaru said he wanted to fuck you. Actually, he wants me and him to do you at the same time," he says, gleefully barrelling on despite Nakamaru's spluttering. "I think it has to do with the plant. Anyway, you up for it?"
Nakamaru is pretty sure he could throttle Taguchi at that very moment, but Koki intercedes. "Yeah? I think we could work something out. Don't look so upset, Yucchi. Go clean up and I'll see you both in your bunk."
He shoots one last withering glance at Taguchi, who completely ignores it in favor of winking lasciviously at Koki, and then he does as he's told, taking the lift to get to his quarters as quickly as possible.
By the time Nakamaru finishes showering, Koki is already spread out across his desk, completely naked. Taguchi is just as naked and has one of Koki’s legs slung over his shoulder as he fingers him, with what appears to be his entire stash of lubrication arranged around Koki. He takes a moment to appreciate the view as Koki's fingers curl around the edges of the desk in a white-knuckle grip.
"Come here, Nakamaru, we need your assistance," Taguchi says. Koki moans in agreement.
Nakamaru crosses the short distance to stand next to Taguchi, spreading Koki's thighs even further apart. Koki gets a hand around one of the lube containers and passes it to him. He takes it, opening it wordlessly and slicking his fingers before setting it aside within easy reach.
Koki sucks in a breath as Nakamaru slips a finger inside him, adding to the three fingers Taguchi is already plunging into him. "How does it feel, Koki? Tell us," Nakamaru quietly orders.
“Yucchi, I feel so full.” Koki pauses, breath hitching as he tries to press against their hands. “Come on, I can take more."
The way he says it sends a surge of arousal straight to Nakamaru's dick. Nakamaru slides another finger in alongside Taguchi's, tangling them together and and pulling the most sinful broken little noises from Koki. He can only imagine the sounds Koki will make once he's pressed between him and Taguchi, being filled more than he's ever been before.
Taguchi pulls his hand away, leaning over Koki to lick the whines from his mouth. "Koki, I hope you're ready, because I am." His voice is a low growl, and Nakamaru decides he's ready too, removing his fingers and wiping them on his towel before letting it drop to the floor. He glances at Taguchi and nods, and they each grab one of Koki's arms to pull him up and to Nakamaru's bunk.
Nakamaru sits on the edge of his bunk, pulling Koki down onto his lap and thrusting his cock along the crease of Koki's ass. Taguchi flops onto the mattress behind them, settling his back against the corner. He paws at Nakamaru's shoulder and a little petulantly, says, "Pass him to me."
Koki groans in response, cheeks flushing at the way Nakamaru casually hands him over. Before going any further he retrieves the lube discarded on his desk, and then climbs onto his bunk, settling on his knees between Taguchi's thighs. Nakamaru rests his hands on Koki's shoulders, leaning in close to press his erection against him and whisper, "Oh, Koki, we're going to have so much fun."
“We definitely will,” Taguchi adds, jostling Koki in his lap.
Koki mumbles something, and Nakamaru murmurs against his ear as he passes the lube to Taguchi. “What was that?”
“Hurry,” Koki whimpers, shifting impatiently.
Nakamaru indulges him, albeit slowly, by pressing two fingers inside as Taguchi slicks himself. Koki gasps, hands clenching against Taguchi’s shoulders as Nakamaru spreads his fingers wide to hold him open for Taguchi. He watches with bated breath as Koki slowly sinks onto Taguchi’s cock; once he’s settled, Nakamaru begins to move his fingers in and out, teasing whines from Koki.
“Be patient, Koki,” Taguchi says, pulling Koki forward to press kisses along his throat. Nakamaru slides his fingers out and lubes his cock.
“Ready, Koki? I need you to relax for me.” Nakamaru kisses the nape of his neck as he lines himself up and waits a moment for Koki to prepare himself. “Here I go,” he whispers.
Nakamaru finally begins to push in alongside Taguchi, the head of his dick slipping along Taguchi’s length and against Koki’s inner walls. It’s almost too hot, too slick, and Nakamaru can only imagine how Koki must be feeling.
The room is silent save for their quiet breathing and the encouraging words Taguchi is murmuring against Koki’s skin. Nakamaru adds his own encouragement,mouthing along Koki’s shoulders as he concentrates on filling him. It’s slow going, but finally both Nakamaru and Taguchi are inside, and Koki is a trembling mess between them; they haven’t even started in earnest.
“Tell us when you’re ready, Koki.” Nakamaru looks over his shoulder at Taguchi, eyes locking for a moment before nodding.
One of Koki’s hands squeezes the hand he’s resting on Koki’s lower stomach, and Nakamaru feels a surge of affection. “I’m ready,” Koki whispers, and Nakamaru kisses the junction of his neck and shoulder as he eases out.
As he presses back in, Nakamaru can feel the slow slide of Taguchi pulling out. They begin a gentle rhythm, and it feels amazing to Nakamaru. He wonders what took them so long to do this, but he stops thinking in favor of focusing on Koki’s heat and how it feels to press against the throb of Taguchi’s dick.
Soon enough, Nakamaru registers that they’ve sped up. He’s wrapped his hand around Koki’s cock, stroking him in time with his thrusts. Koki is gasping, unable to do anything but be bounced between Nakamaru and Taguchi, and Nakamaru isn’t sure he’s going to last.
His orgasm overtakes him, spurred on by the involuntary fluttering of Koki’s inner muscles, and Nakamaru groans in surprise. He falters, stilling inside Koki, hand jerking him erratically, and Taguchi continues slowly, both hands holding Koki by the hips.
Winded a bit, Nakamaru carefully pulls out, continuing to feather kisses along Koki’s neck and shoulders. His legs feel wobbly, but he stays where he is, helping to hold Koki up and run teasing fingers along his cock. Koki’s fingers are still digging into Taguchi’s shoulders, and the two of them are beyond words, gasping and sweating as Taguchi speeds up to fuck him harder.
“Yucchi...” Koki manages to whimper, and Nakamaru takes that as a sign to stop teasing him. He wraps his hand around Koki, pulling him off roughly. It sends Koki over the edge, and he shivers against Nakamaru’s chest, slumping back as Taguchi’s hips stutter to a halt.
Taguchi groans deeply, grip loosening on Koki as his muscles relax. His brow knits together as he slides out of Koki, along with a dribble of semen. The two of them look a complete mess, and Nakamaru feels like he got off with the least mess.
“I feel all gooey,” Koki mumbles, sounding more content than petulant. Taguchi makes a strangled-sounding noise of agreement, and Nakamaru reluctantly gets up.
“We should clean up.”
The only response is whining in unison from where Koki is sprawled facedown over Taguchi. Nakamaru tries again.
“You’ll be stuck together.”
Petulant noises this time, and Nakamaru uses his Commander voice. He doesn't want their morning struggle out of bed to be any more difficult than it already is when they're all relatively clean; as much as he'd love to curl up with them, it will literally be too painful to pry himself away later.
“It’s an order. You’re both getting up now, and then we can all pile up together once you’re clean. It won’t take that long. Now move!”
That does the trick, and still grumbling, Koki and Taguchi roll over and get up. They slink into Nakamaru’s refresher, pouting as they stumble past him. Before joining them, Nakamaru strips the bed, replacing the linens with fresh. They shower quickly, as Nakamaru had promised, and shortly the three of them tumble into bed, a warm tangle of limbs.
Nakamaru isn’t sure if it was a side effect of his exposure to the vine earlier, or the intense sex he’d just had, but he drifts off to sleep with no worries.
*
Nakamaru wakes to a considerably less-crowded bed. Navinosuke chirps in greeting as he sits up, scrubbing a hand against his eyes. He gets dressed quickly, trousers still tucked into boots, a sleeveless top with a jacket over it.
His first stop is the cockpit; it’s empty, so Nakamaru checks the galley. No one else is there, but he takes a moment to grab a protein bar before continuing down to storage. It’s the most likely place for Koki to be, and Taguchi is probably there to “observe.”
Koki and Taguchi are, in fact, both in storage. Taguchi is leaning against the wall, looming over Koki as he makes notes. The plant is still frozen in stasis, and at the sound of Nakamaru’s boots in the doorway, Koki turns around. “‘Morning, Yucchi,” he says, smiling before he turns back to his plant. Taguchi nods his greeting as Nakamaru peers over Koki’s shoulder.
“Are you going to study it without stasis, Koki?” Nakamaru asks.
“Of course. I wanted to wait until you were around. I want to test out a couple of things-- I want to observe what it does when you and Junno are the ones nearest, and then we’ll see what it does when I’m closest.” Koki finishes with his notes, setting his notebook and pencil aside. “How does that sound?”
Nakamaru nods; it’s a reasonable plan, and Koki is relatively safe against one vine versus a whole clearing of them. Koki stands up, making a sweeping gesture toward the seat he just vacated, and Taguchi slides into it. Nakamaru watches from across the room; Koki has joined him, and when he signals, Taguchi flips the stasis switch.
Nothing happens. He looks at Koki, shrugs, and hits the switch again. Nakamaru trades places with him. The plant simply stays still for him, and he flips the switch. He steps aside for Koki to test his hypothesis.
"Ready, go," Koki mutters mostly to himself. He flips the switch, and keeps his hand near the vine. Almost immediately, it stretches toward Koki. It kind of creeps Nakamaru out, but he still finds it fascinating.
"Oho, it really likes you," Taguchi says, leaning over Koki's shoulder to get a better look. "It looks sort of shiny now; what do you think that is?"
"Nakamaru, touch it." Koki casually orders him, but he rolls his eyes and does it anyway. It's sort of slick, a little bit, and shortly after he draws his hand away he's overcome with the urge to fuck. He tries not to dwell on it, but it's hard, just like he's quickly becoming.
Nakamaru steps away and clears his throat. "I need a few minutes alone," he says.
Koki looks at him, eyes sly as he makes notes. He laughs a little bit, then mutters, "Your turn, Junno. It's for science."
Taguchi laughs and does as he's told, waggling his eyebrows at Nakamaru as he fondles the vine. His hand is shiny with the plant’s secretions, and he’s completely serious as he speaks. “Koki, will it skew the results if I tell you I was already thinking of having sex with you? Because I was.”
Nakamaru groans and Koki cackles, adding to his notes. “I’d say that yes, our plant sort of has an aphrodisiac effect on us. We’re staying here, aren’t we, Yucchi?”
He nods before adding, “I still have to send the formal request back to HQ, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be staying.”
Koki cheers, while Junno just grins. Koki sobers suddenly as he asks, “We’ll have to go back into stasis, won’t we?”
Nakamaru nods again. “But we won’t until we get official word. We still have plenty of findings to collect. Go ahead and collate your data and run tests and all your other science things.” He pauses, then presses a kiss to Koki’s forehead. “I’ll be in my bunk if you need me,” he says, walking as quickly as possible to his quarters.
*
Nakamaru begins writing the draft of his report. He includes the hard numbers from all of Koki’s research, and attaches photographic records of everything they’ve found during their stay planetside.
Their days pass relatively uneventfully; the three of them continuing to catalogue information and perform routine maintenance on the ship. Koki had even discovered that the soil was favorable for growing plants from old Earth, though Nakamaru had forbidden him from planting anywhere near the path they’d broken to the vine clearing. He’d grumbled to Nakamaru about having to lug water from further away, but Nakamaru still didn’t want any of them going near it. The sensor still stationed there continued to show no movement, but he didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
Nakamaru is satisfied with their progress, and the fact that Koki’s plant research is going well. Koki had muttered something vague about pheromones in conjunction with the vines, and he’d just nodded in agreement. All Nakamaru was sure of was that he still had some misgivings about having the specimen on board.
The three of them had finished a long day, devoting themselves to their respective tasks, too exhausted to do more than have a quick meal in the galley and retire to their own rooms.
At the shrill sound of Navinosuke buzzing throughout the comm system, Nakamaru sits up, hand automatically going for his laser pistol. His holoscreen is split, showing the view of the storage room, and the beach outside of the ship.
The workbench that houses the vine’s stasis field is empty.
The beach is crawling with vines.
Navinosuke shows Koki’s vine specimen wriggling its way down the hall. He can’t help but yell. “Koki! You are not to leave your quarters!”
The response is sleepy, but Koki mumbles a slurred, “Okay, five more minutes.”
The response is amusing, but Nakamaru still curses under his breath as he hurriedly dresses. He's not going to let this turn out like his final mission; he just can't bear to think of the consequences. As Nakamaru finishes tugging on his boots, he shoves those thoughts aside. Now is not the time to dwell on the past.
"Taguchi, status?" Nakamaru asks, taking one last look at the holoscreen before leaving his quarters. The vine is dragging itself slowly toward the lift; Nakamaru has time to take the ladder and ambush it. Hopefully laser bolts will damage it much more easily than his knife had.
"The boarding ramp was shut at the end of the day. It's still locked, and Navinosuke activated the energy shields when he first woke us. Where do you want me?" Taguchi is completely focused as he meets Nakamaru in the corridor; he definitely appreciates that.
"For now, patrol the corridor." Nakamaru glances at Koki's shut door and claps a hand against Taguchi's shoulder as he jogs to the ladder. "The lift should be locked down, just in case, and have Navinosuke prime the engines. We may move camp."
Taguchi nods, checking his own pistol. Navinosuke beeps in acknowledgement over their comms, and Nakamaru slides down the ladder. The lights are still dim, the ship in the middle of its night cycle. Nakamaru settles on the floor at the bottom of the ladder quietly; he peers around the wall as he straightens.
The vine is less than a metre away, still making slow progress. Nakamaru doesn't want to take any chances, and he draws his pistol. His knife is already loose in its sheath.
Nakamaru takes a deep breath to center himself, and then leans around the wall. He lines up the shot, and pulls the trigger once. One more time, as insurance, and Nakamaru is grateful that there's no recoil or lengthy cooldown period; he'd hated that about plasma rifles.
A moment passes, and Nakamaru emerges from his hiding spot. He keeps his gun trained on the vine, wary as he nudges it with the toe of his boot. It doesn’t seem to be moving anymore, charred and still smoking a little. Taguchi’s voice crackles in his ear. “Nakamaru, Navinosuke says the vines on the beach are still on the move. Some of them are curling around the landing struts."
"Shit!" Nakamaru clenches a fist. "The energy shield isn't repelling them?"
"Doesn't look like it, sir."
Nakamaru thinks of their options. Maybe they can use the engines somehow, burn the vines away. "Navinosuke primed the engines, correct?"
"Affirmative. We can activate the heat shielding as well, sir." Taguchi is nearly on Nakamaru's exact line of thinking, and that's heartening.
"Activate the heat shields, then, Navinosuke. We'll use the heat from the exhaust jets to blow away and burn the vines that are closest. We can't allow any more to wrap around the ship." The vines on the beach aren't nearly as big as the ones wrapped around the trees in the clearing, but Nakamaru is sure that if enough of them cocoon them, the ship will be crushed like so much tin.
Taguchi interrupts his thoughts. "Do you need any assistance, sir?"
"Negative, Taguchi," Nakamaru says. "All clear on the lower deck." He grabs a hold of a ladder rung as he feels the rumble of the exhaust ports gearing up; it goes on for several minutes, but soon enough it stops.
Koki cuts in, a bit more coherent, bordering on screeching. “Yucchi! Are you okay? I could have sworn I flipped the stasis field back on last cycle.”
"We'll worry about that later. Did you see everything that happened outside the ship? I've half a mind to set that clearing ablaze, as well as the things on the beach." Nakamaru can't help the disgusted way he spits the last part, but that's how his words come out. "Actually, we just did burn some of the vines that were surrounding us."
Koki makes a distressed noise. "But there's still so much we don't know! What if those plants are an important part of the ecosystem? We could destroy it utterly in a fit of retaliation."
"I'm going to put this specimen back in the stasis field, and then we're all going to discuss this in the cockpit." Nakamaru gingerly picks the vine up and carries it to storage; it seems pretty dead to him, but he doesn't want to take chances. “It’s strange...” he trails off, thinking of the plants and their behavior. “Do you think they have some sort of a hive mind or way to communicate?”
Everyone is silent, all of them at a loss for words.
Koki and Taguchi are both in the cockpit when he arrives; both of them look pensive. Nakamaru feels the same. He settles into his seat, quiet as he says, "Navinosuke. Show us the beach, and the clearing."
The requested feeds appear on the main holoscreen. The remaining plants on the beach are still, masses of dark green and piles of ash and cooling glass under the strange stars in the sky. The clearing is shadowed, but Nakamaru can still tell that things have changed there; most of the vines that are still in the clearing are the oldest ones. The others are silent as they take in the views.
"So," Nakamaru begins quietly, "Do we have any ideas on what these plants truly are, or if they're even plant at all?"
"I still think they're mostly plant," Koki says, rolling the material of his pyjama pants between his fingers. "I also think pheromones had something to do with how they... fixated, I guess, on me. I've run some tests, and I should have the results soon and the report done as well."
"So far the sensors haven't returned visual evidence of any more clusters of the vines," Taguchi adds. "Most of them are still relatively close by, within 1000 kilometres or so."
Nakamaru nods in acknowledgement. "So what it seems is that this could be the only place these vines inhabit. As much as I want to do it, it would be imprudent to destroy all of them. For now we will leave them be; perhaps the vines that have surrounded us and survived will somehow return to their home. If not, we can move along, perhaps further inland, and begin to survey other areas. I've completed and sent our preliminary findings on to HQ; we'll have to write up this incident and await their advice. Does this sound reasonable?"
"Yes," Koki and Taguchi say at the same time. There's a minor scuffle as they try to out-jinx each other, and the tension that they'd been under dissipates. Nakamaru can't help but laugh.
"Let's get some more rest, then. We've got a lot of reports to write in the morning." Nakamaru rises, smiling as the three of them return to his bunk.
Needless to say, he doesn't get much rest. Nakamaru is fine with that.
Epilogue
The days pass quickly as the three of them finish reports and wait for a response from headquarters. In the meantime, the vines that had crawled to the beach slowly disappear, the final stragglers withering under the double suns.
The old Earth crops that Koki had planted matured quickly under the same sunlight, and soon enough they're harvested. Koki plants a few trees in the hopes that they'll grow well and become a source of fresh fruits, as well as a marker for where they had initially touched down; he builds a more permanent stasis field. It's not to keep the tiny saplings from growing, but to keep them from unintentionally spreading.
Nakamaru and Taguchi study the maps pulled from the composite images taken from orbit and the sensors they had deployed upon landing. The streamlet they landed near grew from a much larger river, and with input from Koki they decide to have sensors follow it in search of another potential site to study.
They pick several potential sites and beam the coordinates back to headquarters. A few more days pass, and Navinosuke alerts them when the response comes in. Koki and Taguchi crowd Nakamaru as they all read it in the cockpit.
Good work, gentlemen.
Upon reviewing your findings, we have dispatched an additional ship, the TABOO. You are to finish your current projects, and then enter suspended animation. Once the TABOO enters your quadrant her crew will signal your ship.
Once both crews have assembled, continue planetary observation and exploration.
Good luck and godspeed.
They’re quiet for a moment as they take in the missive. Nakamaru looks at each of them and smirks as he says, “Last one to my quarters takes one for the team.”
It’s a mad dash of elbows and curses, ending with Koki crowing in victory as he shoves past Taguchi and enters Nakamaru’s room hot on his heels. Nakamaru laughs at the utter disbelief on Taguchi’s face as Koki drags him to Nakamaru’s bunk.
All in all, his mission has been a success, and it looks like it will continue that way.