so, I’m planning on getting plastered and trying to forget I was sent to this wasteland.”
“It ain’t so bad,” Doug said as he slapped Jace on the back. “Reminds me of the small laborers’ town I grew up in near the Badlands in South Dakota. Color is off, and this place has more trees, but it reminds me of home all the same. A lot of open terrain, a lot of possibilities.”
“Whatever, dude.” Jace sighed, bracing his hands behind his head. “I don’t see it. Everything just looks gray, like something from the old twentieth century Twilight Zone vids. I expect someone to start telling me all about a fifth dimension beyond light and shadow any second now.”
Ben rolled his eyes and shoved Jace, upsetting his twin’s balance. “I keep telling you those old vids are gonna rot your brain. They’re on the restricted list for a reason.”
“All the fun shit is. Anything that makes you actually use your brain.”
Charlie never had the nerve to download forbidden content from illegal servers. Only approved programming was allowed to non-gratas. Anything outside of the approved vid streams that were all from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries were also illegal. That didn’t stop people from accessing them, but not Charlie.
At thirty-two, she had spent her entire life playing by the rules, hoping that she wouldn’t get sent to the colonies. Kept her head down and worked her ass off. It hadn’t done a damn bit of good. Her name had still been entered in the Lottery, and no one had been willing to write her a recommendation to get an exemption.
“Do you think they’ll have uplinks ready to the planetary data system?” she asked as she pushed off the rock. She was curious just how cut-off they were in their corner of the galaxy. The one good thing about living in a colony was that the media restrictions were looser on the colonies. She could watch current programs from Earth that would have been restricted before, as well as those from other parts of the galaxy that she’d never seen.
“Yeah.” Doug sighed, wrinkling his brow. “They have key satellites orbiting designated planets and a few space stations between here and there. Newest ones set up were scheduled to go live a year ago. Earth isn’t going to let us do anything without their stamp of approval. But the filters won’t be up yet so we should have wide access for a while. No doubt the sector head will be in contact with them once they decide to lift the communication blocks.”
“Planning a little illicit viewing, Charlie?” Jace grinned as he rose to his feet. “I hear on some of the remote stations they broadcast some really freaky alien-human porn. Illegal as hell, but I bet I can find it. It would be a way to while away many lonely nights.” He chuckled with a gleam in his eyes. “They let it slide on the colonies because they would rather everyone just be wanking in their quarters instead of stirring up trouble. What do you say? Planning on rubbing one out?”
“After three years shut in with Doug, probably more than one,” she said, falling into the easy camaraderie she enjoyed with the men.
“I would certainly volunteer to be used,” Ben offered with a flirtatious grin as he walked at her side, a little swagger in his step—but both brothers were good for that. She wasn’t so easily taken in. Especially when she knew full well that he didn’t mean it in any way that mattered. He offered his services widely.
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “Are you built like an Aturian and didn’t tell me?”
“Damn, that’s a low blow.” He laughed. “I’m only human, Charlie. But we could have some hot, sweaty fun. Haven’t had any complaints.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Thanks, but I seem to recall how you got around on the ship. I’ll be quite happy with my legally purchased vibrator and some illegal tawdry visual stimulation.”
Charlie felt a tingle between her thighs thinking about it. It had been a while since she had enough privacy to rub one out, and even longer since she had sex. The thought of watching Aturian porn in the privacy of her own quarters, even if it was literally a hole in the wall, sent a hot lick of desire through her, leaving behind a needy edge that demanded satisfaction. Like many human women, Charlie was attracted to the beautiful aliens and their exotic dicks. It was