Shannon Bennet could barely think; the tremendous pressure she was experiencing was even more than she had been prepared to expect. At 20-plus G's her mind was numb, and she felt herself blacking out.

Fear and excitement coursed through her tense body, each emotion battling for domination. To help combat the stress that threatened to overpower her senses, Shannon thought back to the events that had put her in the padded seat aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, heading for a nine-month mission on the Russian Space Station MIR-19.

It had been a long ride, much longer than the two days, three hours, 49 minutes that this journey to the MIR-19 would take. It started four years ago, almost to the day.

Shannon's mind ranged back to those first days of training in Star City, Russia; the shared training with her fellow-astronauts and the MIR-19's primary and backup crew members.

How strange everything had been back then. She was amazed how comforting those memories were to her in the present stressful situation.

This seventh joint mission to the MIR-19 was critical. A lot was riding on her unique experience as a top systems analyst. She was the best flight systems specialist at NASA, and that was the only reason she was there. Shannon knew that the bigwigs at Mission Control hadn't really wanted a woman for this mission. With a faint smile, she thought: 'Well, you just don't have a choice now, do you?'

It had been a tough, uphill fight to get to the top, but she'd made it. It was truly the best feeling she'd ever had, finding that she'd won a place on this mission.

As the sounds of a distant mechanical voice popped and crackled in her earphones, she was brought back to the present. "STS-89 Atlantis, this is Ground Control. Please remit status in 10..."

Shannon knew the main boosters were about to fall away and, sure enough, within seconds of the ground contact, there was a bump, then silence... What a feeling, to be released from the titanic force of the booster engines and to be in the silence of space, drifting toward their destination at 17,800 miles per hour!

Shannon heard Mike Warren, mission commander, respond loud and clear: "Mission control, STS-89, status clear, time Zulu 0098/24, AOK."

She was glad to know for sure that everything had gone well. No matter how exciting a space mission might be, there was always an underlying fear that something would go wrong.

Mike turned in his padded seat and smiled at her, giving a thumbs-up sign. "We're on our way! What a sight, huh?"

Shannon looked out through the superplex view screen, and agreed it was truly awe-inspiring ... space in its enormity. Yes, it was truly humbling.

The next two days were uneventful. The daily routine was simple, devised to reach their destination as fast as possible: Keep the instruments transmitting; eat; sleep; stay alert. One thing Shannon wasn't too happy about was the waste management system. She'd never gotten used to peeing through a catheter, and was looking forward to the gravity cell on MIR-19. There'd be a toilet there that would work more or less normally, even a static shower, and after two days in space that seemed like a luxury.

They were now in MIR-19's vicinity. Their equipment told them the station should be visible, but though Shannon had been looking intently for the Russian space vehicle she was still unable to see anything man-made.

Just then a shout in her earphone exclaimed: "Look at that!"

She quickly looked round, and saw a strange metallic shape moving past their craft.

The commander said: "Space crud. We must be close to the MIR now. Kind of a shame that man has to dump his garbage into space."

Shannon looked carefully at the object sailing by, and noted that it was a net bag, full of refuse; she saw a 'Coke' can in the garbage held together by the net. "Well, it looks like they get all the comforts of home," she murmured, to no one in particular.

Suddenly a shining star appeared ... No, it was the sun, reflecting off the MIR's solar array. How beautiful it looked, hanging there in space, all bright and shiny.

Shannon had heard so much about the ageing space station that she'd pictured it a rusting hulk, or pitted shell. But this craft looked almost new, at least from a distance.

Docking was a real effort. Even with the NASA-designed module, it took almost three hours before the air-locks could be safely opened.

The first thing Shannon saw through the open hatch was the face of Nikolai Budarin. He had smoky gray eyes, pitch-black hair and a smiling face. She had trained with Nikolai almost a year and a half ago. He was from Kirya settlement, Chuvashia, Russia, and he had a wife, Marina, and two sons.

He reached through the hatch, and said in Russian: "Shannon, good to see you again!"

Another of Shannon's many talents was that she could speak Russian fluently, while her fellow NASA crewmembers had only rudimentary Russian-language skills.

She radiated her warmest smile at Nikolai and said: "I'm happy to see you too, Niko. I've also been looking forward to getting out of this suit and into something a little more comfortable." Smiling broadly, Nikolai pulled her through the hatch into the space station.

Over the next five hours all the supplies were transferred, and Scott Miller, her colleague who had been on the station for the past six months, was back aboard the Atlantis. There was no time to waste on this trip. The Atlantis had her own mission to complete, and was scheduled to leave right after transfer was complete.

Shannon watched as the two crafts parted and her fellow American crew-members disappeared into the night of outer space.

Nikolai was watching Shannon's face as she leaned into the observation bubble to watch her friends sail away on their mission. He was glad she was there, having always been fascinated by her almost male drive. Yes, he was a liberated citizen of a country that had dropped the bourgeois notion that women are the fairer sex.

However, if the truth be known, his society was as sexist as any other, and it amazed him to see a female with such a drive to succeed. It was a great turn-on for him, since he was used to little women, who stood behind their men. It's what he thought he wanted when he married Marina.

As the last trace of the Atlantis disappeared into space, Shannon turned back to her new surroundings. She noticed that the only other occupant of their little world, Valeri Korzun, the MIR-19 commander, was staring at her.

She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a glint in his eye that might spell trouble in the future. Shannon had always been good at reading people's intentions; it was one reason why she'd been so successful in her career. She'd always been aware of her striking good looks. Sometimes they'd been a hindrance. Men always responded to her appearance, sometimes not taking her as seriously as she deserved; at least, until they got to know her. This Korzun fellow looked as if he might be one of those.

Thinking about it, Shannon realized that the man had been in that confined space for almost a year. Maybe he was just a little uptight; if so, she couldn't really blame him under the circumstances.

That night, after sorting out her personal space arrangements, Shannon found herself was more than ready for a sleep period.

After dinner she could hardly keep her eyes open. The events of the day must have been tougher on her than she'd supposed. So, with an apology, she took herself off to bed.

She was grateful that the MIR-19 space station's small pressurization allowed the wearing of normal clothing. She was also glad to have changed into her uniform of the day: running shorts, sweatshirt and aerobic shoes. They would comprise her uniform for the next nine months, she thought, just before drifting into dream- less slumber.

Shannon's eyes snapped open. Something, or someone, was touching her thigh. She quickly moved into a defensive posture and glared at ... NIKOLAI! "What in hell do you think you're doing, Niko?" She was shocked that her friend could behave like that to a profes- sional colleague. Sure, maybe that Korzun guy, but not Niko!

"Shannon, I'm sorry. It's just that I've been here so many months, and I've really got to have relief. You looked so inviting, and we are friends, after all. I thought you might help me with..." His voice tailed away and his eyes fell to the floor plates.

"I can't believe you said that, Niko! You sound like a teenage boy," Shannon said, in an exasperated tone.

Nikolai's reply came in an earnest whisper: "That's all very well for you to say. You're a rich American, and you people get your own compartments, while Korzun and I must share a small space together. When can a man find relief if he has no privacy?"

"Well, this is hardly private now, is it? There are two of us here, just like there are two of you out there," Shannon whispered back, frowning at the dark-haired young man.

Nikolai looked earnestly up at her from his crouching position beside her bunk. "I am a man, and you are a woman. There is no shame to have sexual things between a man and a woman. But there is between two men."

"Well you can forget it, Niko, 'cause while I'm here there still won't be any sex between a man and a woman."

"Shannon, even if we do not have actual 'sex' you could still help me so much. Please, Shannon. I beg you."

He was looking really uncomfortable, and when Shannon's gaze moved from his face to his body she saw that he was covering his crotch.

"But, Nikolai, you're married, and you have children. What you ask isn't right," she said.

Nikolai didn't reply this time; he stood up and sat on the edge of Shannon's bunk. While she watched, the young cosmonaut unzipped his trousers and, to Shannon's surprise, a fully erect penis surged out through the opening. She'd expected to see bulging underwear, but he obviously wasn't wearing any.

He looked at her pleadingly while she contemplated his erection, which was pointing straight toward the ceiling. He did look interesting. He also appeared truly distressed, Shannon thought, a little guiltily.

Then she had an idea. Perhaps she could carry out a scientific study into the sexual drive of men in conditions of weightlessness. She hesitated a moment longer, then tentatively reached out a hand and touched the man's throbbing member.

She pulled back sharply when he almost jumped to a standing position at her touch.

"I apologize, Shannon. Please continue. I promise to hold still, but you startled me for a moment. I am quite painfully aroused to be here with you."

Shannon reached out again for the stiff member and smoothed her hand along its long hot shaft. She marveled at Nikolai's response; his whole body was trembling at her simple touch. She gently grasped his cock and began pulling at the taut skin of the smooth shaft as she began to masturbate her friend.

Shannon had another surprise when Niko began shooting sperm onto her and into the almost weightless air in her bunk area after just three or four pumping motions, gasping aloud as he came.

She stopped her hand action and reached for a cloth as quickly as she could. Nikolai took over from her when she stopped, and continued frantically pumping his swollen cock, spurting his seed into the cloth that Shannon held out for that purpose.

At last, after at least 10 huge spurts of come, followed by lesser dribbles, Nikolai slumped onto the bunk with a huge sigh of relief.

It was hard to believe one man could have manufactured so much sperm, but it was so in Nikolai's case. Shannon began to giggle quietly at the sight of this big man so obviously dependent on her. It was a new feeling for her.

As she looked at Nikolai's recumbent form, sexual images began filtering into her mind. Impulsively she leaned over and began to lick the still-erect penis. She'd done this in the past for several of her boyfriends, and knew how much men liked it.

She thought it would be interesting to see what effect it would have on a man who had come just once in over six months.

It had the desired effect, Nikolai beginning to groan aloud as Shannon moved her tongue over the surface of his bloated sex organ. Encouraged by his reaction, she took his cockhead as deep into her mouth as she could, swirling her tongue around the shaft at the same time.

She admitted to herself that he felt delicious against her tongue, and that his reaction to her ministrations were making her quite wet.

In something less than a minute, Shannon's mouth filled up with Niko's hot sticky come. She immediately pulled her mouth off the swollen spurting cock, collecting the residue of the sperm in her palm while Niko's hips thrust backand forth as he desperately emptied his body of the rest of his unwanted seed.

As his orgasm came to an end he slowed his humping motions and opened his eyes, just in time to see Shannon licking his sperm from her palm. It was the most erotic thing he'd ever seen, this beautiful American girl drinking his hot Russian sperm. He was consumed with lust for her; he didn't know whether he could live if she refused him sex after this.

They both looked up, startled, when Commander Valeri Korzun suddenly entered the compartment. He gaped at the scene. Nikolai lay sprawled, semi-naked, on the American woman's bunk, and what he realized was that his fellow-cosmonaut's come was dripping from her lips.

Shannon, remembering herself, now jumped up, almost hitting her head against the bulkhead, at the same time offloading Nikolai onto the floor.

Korzun saw fear cross her face. This episode could end Shannon's career, as well as Nikolai's. Korzun liked that. He liked to have the upper hand. He'd wanted to have the American woman when he first saw her. He also knew that she'd rejected him at the beginning. He could tell that right away. It didn't matter. If she was enough of a slut to have sexual relations with Nikolai, then she was going to have them with him too.

Thoughts like this ran through Valeri Korzun's brain as he watched the couple squirming around, trying to clean up the mess they'd made.

Without a word, he turned around in the cubicle entrance and returned to his own bunk. If Nikolai and Shannon could have seen his face, they would have found it wearing a satisfied smile.

When the sleep period was officially over, Shannon reluctantly joined the other crew members. She wasn't at all happy about what had happened five hours earlier. How could she have done that? Sure, she'd felt sorry for Nikolai, and she had, she guessed, thought it would do no harm to give him a helping hand, so to speak. But, looking back at the event, she realized it had been a huge mistake, and she now dreaded facing both men.

What Shannon didn't know was that things were worse even than she imagined. When Nikolai left her cubicle hours earlier, Valeri Korzun had confronted him, and said that unless he, Korzun, could participate in their sexual activities he would report both Shannon and Nikolai.

As a participant, of course, he'd have to keep quiet. He also said that he'd been on the station twice as long as Nikolai, and therefore needed sex with a woman twice as much as Nikolai did.

Nikolai was at first upset by these suggestions, but he soon understood that if he couldn't convince the American that it was in her interests to cooperate, they'd both be disgraced and thrown out of the space program.

Shannon stepped hesitantly from her cubicle into the main cabin. She intended trying to pretend that nothing had happened, and was determined to keep on the straight and narrow from now on. Korzun immediately came toward her.

In a gruff Russian voice he said: "We will return to your room, woman. I need to have sex with you."

Shannon started, and swung around to stare at the man as if he'd hit her. "What are you saying, Valeri? Please don't be so rude! I won't stand for it; do you understand me?"

"I understand you very well," he answered. "In my country we know how to treat your kind. How do you say it? Barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen!" He laughed harshly at his own joke while Nikolai stood behind him, a sour expression on his face.

Shannon appealed to Nikolai: "Please tell him that it wasn't sex we had. Tell him, Niko!"

Nikolai looked ruefully at her. "Shannon, we have been caught, and now have no choice but to be nice to Commander Korzun. Do you want to stay in the Shuttle-MIR program? If you are nice to him, he will be in the same boat as us, and could not speak against us without harming himself."

Shannon stood with her feet firmly planted, looking at Nikolai as if he were a bug on a dissecting table. She then looked at Korzun, and knew instantly what she had to do. She'd have to get Valeri off first, and then, probably, have to keep doing the same for both men for the whole of her assigned time on the station.

Well, if that was what it took... She was a big girl, she'd gotten herself into this situation, and she could handle a little male masturbation if that would get her out of it.

"Okay, Valeri. Quit standing there and come into my room, and we'll get this over with!" She shot a disgusted glance over her shoulder at Nikolai as she followed Korzun into her cubicle.

Once inside, Shannon said in a matter-of-fact voice: "Look, Valeri, I guess I understand where you're coming from, being here without any privacy for over a year. I'm willing to masturbate you, and Nikolai too, but not every day, and nothing more than masturbation. That little scene you saw last sleep period was a mistake, and I don't plan on giving any more blow-jobs. Understood?"

Korzun unsnapped his pants, then lowered both pants and underwear in one motion. Shannon was surprised to see how fit he looked. He was very pale, having been 'inside' for over a year, but his stomach muscles rippled as he stood erect. And speaking of 'erect', he had the largest man-pole she'd ever seen. It had to be at least ten inches long, and she wasn't even sure that she could get her fingertips to touch around the shaft. It looked amazing.

He swaggered over to her bunk and sat down. Taking his pants the rest of the way off, and pulling his sweat-shirt off over his head, he sat back naked, looking at her. "Well, why don't you undress, woman?"

Shannon answered: "I don't need to do that to get you off, Valeri. You just sit there and let me do my thing, okay?" She stepped up to Korzun and reached for his monster cock.

"Not so fast, woman! I like my women to be naked... It makes us more equal. I don't want just to be mastur- bated. I want the pleasure of seeing your body as well."

He reached up and grabbed an arm, then pulled her down onto his lap, so that his erect cock was pushing against her back. "Here, let me help you," he grunted, tugging up at the back of Shannon's sweatshirt.

"No, Valeri! Stop that, and let me go!" Shannon jumped up and whirled to face her naked chief. "This wasn't part of the deal!" She glared down at him and spat out: "I do not intend to be naked with either of you!"

Korzun at once reached for his clothes and stood up, saying: "All right, I accept that. But you and Nikolai will be reported during the next transmission to earth."

He pulled on his pants and started to leave the cubicle.

"NO, WAIT!" Shannon shouted. Doubt and fear had made her cry out. For the first time in her life she didn't feel in control of her own destiny. She hated this man, and she loathed herself for being so weak, and making such a mess of everything. "OK, I'll undress for you, but you'll have to keep your hands off me. Do you understand?"

Korzun turned back and swiftly took off his pants again. Smiling, he sat down once more on Shannon's bunk and waited for the show.

She looked coldly at her tormenter, wishing she could turn a knob and jettison him into outer space. Instead she slowly pulled her sweatshirt up over her head and threw it to the floor.

Korzun shouted his appreciation. "Wonderful! Truly wonderful! In my country it is hard to find a woman who can go without a bra and still look so inviting!"

Shannon flushed with embarrassment, and just a little pride. She'd always had nice knockers, and she knew it. Still standing in front of Korzun, and striking a defiant pose, Shannon pushed her running shorts down and stepped out of them. She stood proudly naked in front of this man who obviously desired her.

The thought of teasing him crossed her mind, but was quickly rejected. She wasn't as confident about this encounter as she would normally have been. She didn't want to start anything that he might feel he had to finish. Besides, having counted on a nine-month stint in space, she was off the pill and had no other means of birth control. Who'd have thought...!?

With no further hesitation, Shannon dropped to her knees between Valeri's legs and grasped his huge cock with both hands. She figured that the sooner she got him off, the sooner she could get dressed and out of danger. Without any preamble, therefore, she began to stroke his shaft, using both hands, up and down.

Meanwhile, Korzun sat back and closed his eyes, softly grunting each time Shannon's hand completed a downward pull on his sensitive shaft. She watched his monster-cock grow even bigger, especially the head, as he became increasingly excited by her hand action.

She was surprised to find herself enjoying what she was doing. Korzun's organ was so big that it made for a quite new experience for her. She wondered if he'd have more sperm than Nikolai. Korzun had been cooped up in MIR-19 for almost twice as long as Nikolai, and the size of his balls matched that of his cock! The fact that she was enjoying masturbating Korzun made Shannon feel less upset about why she was doing it at all.

In fact, she had to admit she was more excited than she'd ever been! She was so aroused, she felt as if she was dripping on the floor.

Without warning, and because Shannon had had been concentrating on her own arousal, Korzun was able to take hold of her breasts without the struggle he might have expected just a few minutes earlier. He fingered her nipples with slow deliberation, and she couldn't help the slight moan that escaped her lips.

He continued playing with her breasts, while Shannon threw her head back and closed her eyes to luxuriate in the sensations, still maintaining her hands' rhythm on the commander's pulsing cock shaft.

Suddenly, and in one swift movement, Korzun grabbed Shannon by the waist and lifted her smaller body onto his lap, facing him. Her legs were on either side of his thighs, and his magnificent tool throbbed against her taut belly.

Holding tight to Korzun's organ with both hands throughout this maneuver, Shannon kept up the masturbatory rhythm, hoping she might bring him off before they both succumbed to the heat of the moment.

Korzun began to move her body up and down, rubbing it against his erection in time with her movements. Shannon was so excited by the sight of his huge tool moving against her stomach, that she could barely stand it. In a final effort to make him ejaculate before he inevitably tried to fuck her, she bent down and tried to take the head of his monster into her mouth and bring him off that way, but Korzun prevented her.

Shannon was now almost helpless from her own need. She wanted, desperately, to stop things before they went any further, but her body and mind were mesmerized by the sexual activity in the little cubicle. When Korzun gently lifted her towards his waiting pole, she could only whimper.

She started to hyperventilate when he brought her pussy lips up to his swollen cock-head. She didn't resist, just kept looking down between them in awe as her body was maneuvered over Korzun's huge organ, in an attempt to find the perfect position and angle.

Shannon had quite forgotten why she was there, and was no longer worrying about any possible consequences. She just wanted to watch this magnificent cock parting her pussy lips, and stretching her open. The feeling was painful, and also something else.

She bounced up and down on his lap almost like a rag doll as, inch by inch, his fleshy pole disappeared inside her. She gazed, fascinated, at her stretched pussy lips when at last she came to rest, firmly impaled upon the huge cock-shaft.

Shannon had never felt so full before. The feeling of having this man's monster-cock thrust to the hilt inside her tight opening was totally new to her. And she liked it... In fact, she liked it a lot.

She began to sway from side to side, feeling Korzun's cock move inside her, and she bit back a scream of ecstasy when an unexpected orgasm rose from deep inside. "OH FUCK! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" she screamed, unable to stop herself.

As her orgasm continued unabated, Shannon began to gasp for breath. What was happening to her? She'd never orgasmed anything like that before! Just as she felt about to faint, she felt Korzun's body stiffen.

Looking down at where they were joined, Shannon watched him humping as he came inside her. She was amazed to see his white sperm jetting out around his pumping shaft with each thrust; he was so big there wasn't enough room for his sperm inside her.

Soon little globs of pearly sperm were gently floating in the reduced atmosphere of her cubicle, finally settling on floor and wall plates.

With a final, Herculean, thrust and a loud grunt, Korzun shot his last spasm of seed and slumped back against the bulkhead, taking the young American beauty with him to lie on his heaving chest.

They were both breathing like greyhounds that had just finished a race. Shannon was still impaled upon Korzun's oversized cock, but it hardly seemed to matter any more.

"A pretty sight, I must say!" It was Nikolai who spoke, standing at the entrance to Shannon's cubicle. She shot him a tired look of surrender as he walked into the room and lifted her off her partner.

Quickly undoing his own pants, Nikolai gently lowered Shannon to the floor onto her hands and knees before kneeling down behind her.

It took no great effort for him to gain entrance to her well-used pussy. His prick slipped right in among all the sexual slime resulting from her, and Korzun's, recent activity. She just remained on all fours while Nikolai hovered over her, humping her as if she was an animal in heat.

Her mind was in turmoil, because she felt herself reaching another sexual pinnacle. How could this be? She'd had a few orgasms with men before this. Most of the really deep pleasure she'd ever had she'd given to herself. But here were these two Russian men driving her crazy like an animal.

Nikolai's body tensed as he felt himself ready to come into Shannon. Her warm, well-used cunt had felt so good to him that he was unable to hold out for long.

"NO! Wait, Niko! I need to come too! Don't do it yet, please!" Shannon cried out.

But it was already too late. Even as she made her plea, Nikolai was already pumping his seed into her.

After a few more thrusts he sank down onto Shannon's back, forcing her smaller body to the floor under his weight. She lay there, her pussy throbbing for release, and her frustration almost unbearable.

Suddenly Nikolai was thrust to one side, and Korzun knelt over her. His monster-cock, now at half-mast, brushed against her face. He disappeared from her field of vision, and then the most incredible thing happened!

He put his mouth between her legs and began to lick and suck at her needy nether parts. He was an expert cunt-sucker, and the feeling was incredible! She felt him sucking and licking the sperm from her used pussy, while his tongue also lapped at her pleasure button. It was heavenly!

Another moment, and Shannon was screaming again in new-found ecstasy. It was just too much that every time Korzun ran his tongue across her taut clitoris her mind went blank with another orgasmic flash.

At last she couldn't take any more and, pushing Korzun's face out from between her legs, she rolled over into a fetal position.

After that first day, Shannon discovered that something about reduced gravity enhanced the sex act. She found herself continually thinking about sex. Of course, men being men, her colleagues were always ready to help her out. And so it went on for her nine months aboard the MIR-19.

They accomplished more than any other team, and Mission Control was always complimenting them on their efficiency and accuracy. As a matter of fact, NASA decided that when Shannon's time was up they would replace her with Karen Anderson, another up-and-coming female astronaut.

Apparently NASA was thinking that introducing a female astronaut had worked so well they just might make it permanent.

When her last day arrived and the shuttlecraft was attached to the MIR-19, Shannon had her doubts. What would they think when she got back and had her baby within a month or so of her return? And Karen... should she say anything to her?

Naw, what good would it do now....



Acknowledgments: All my thanks... to Stephen for his encouragement and proofing and to Ian for doing such a good job editing my little story.

� 1997 Kristen Kathleen Becker [email protected]

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