“Well hello Ms. Chase. I hope you enjoy your stay aboard the illustrious Star of Argon. Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Dave.” The voice was soft, polite, and surprisingly refined. Journey couldn’t help but think he sounded like a character from one of the old earth vids about super-spies in tailored suits. She had never heard such a voice in person before, even from an intercom, and found it strangely attractive.

      “Um, who are you…exactly?” Journey paused mid sentence. She was standing in front of her assigned quarters. She was lucky to have a room on C-deck with everyone else from first class. 

      The Star of Argon was the largest vessel she had been on, making it easy to get lost. Journey was thankful for the data pad. She was surprised to see her listed to bunk on C-deck, but didn’t argue as the handheld device led her to her private sanctuary. The ships hallways, and corridors smelled of lilac and rich perfume. It must’ve imported a fresh batch of ozone rather recently. The pungent odor exhilarated her nostrils, and warmed her face.

      Journey tugged at the shoulder strap of her bag while holding onto the three packages containing her new uniforms. The plastic wrapping sucked onto her skin, making it a little easier to carry them. 

      Dave continued from the intercom panel next to the door. “I am the ship’s artificial intelligence system. I am always at your service.” The lock on her door clicked to unlock as he finished.

      Journey stiffened, she wasn’t sure how she felt about an artificial intelligence governing over the ship. Trusting her better judgment, she decided it was best not to piss it off. “Thank you, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She tried to smile, but her lips twitched.

      “The pleasure is all mine Miss Chase.”

      Miss Chase? She had never heard herself addressed as such. It made her cringe even more. 

      Journey was surprised that the door slid smoothly open without a sound, unlike so many other doorways she had passed. Her expectations were to find a cramped room, with a bunk bed built into the wall, and, if she was lucky, a sink. Stepping inside, she was shocked. 

      There was plenty of room. A queen sized bed sat neatly underneath an armor-glass window, overlooking the great beyond. A carpet of constellations lit up the entire room, threatening to steal her attention from everything else. 

      It took a moment for Journey to collect herself. Staring into the void, at all those stars, was always captivating. Once she had regained her senses, she looked across the room. A large porcelain bath tub was installed in the corner. Closets were built into the walls, along with bookcases full of actual books. Gentle lights were built into the corners of the walls, creating an aura of soothing colors to mix with the starlight. 

      The extravagance was enough to draw her eyes away from the silver pole in the center of the room, or the cabinet with the clear door full of phallus shaped objects of varying sizes, colors, and styles. Nearly all the cabinets had clear doors as well, and they all contained instruments of sexual depravity. Journey’s stomach dropped when she saw the collection of ropes, and pumps, neatly stashed in one of the compartments. 

      Other than the sex toys, and other oddities, the room was more than she imagined. There was enough room between the bed and other furniture for her to dance if she wanted. Journey took another step inside, and noticed the floors themselves were heated. The air conditioning was silent, yet a cool breeze brushed against her cheeks. There was a spicy fragrance in the air, giving her a sense of relief.

      A large screen panel was embedded into the forward wall, next to the doorway. It sat in front of a large black leather couch. Meanwhile, the wall to her right held compartments for a fridge, sink, and an open space with a freaking coffee machine!

      “Sex, and coffee…nice,” Journey chuckled to herself. She dropped her plastic packages on the ground, she wasn’t eager to try them on. Her shoulders dipped, causing the bag over her shoulder to slide onto the floor with a thud. There was no rush to unpack, Journey knew she had a few hours before her deep-freeze.

      Without a second thought, she quickly stripped down, and threw her sweaty clothes on the couch. Naked and free, she lunged toward the bed with her arms spread wide. It was soft and bouncy, causing her to flop into the air before sinking into the sheets. She spread her legs wide, from end to end, and nestled her cheek into the cushioned pillow. Journey was tempted to fall asleep, but there was something else calling her name.

      The porcelain tub sparkled in the orange room lights, and Journey honestly couldn’t remember the last time she indulged a bath. Slowly, she crawled from the queen sized bed, and played with the tub’s faucet settings until steaming hot water began filling its depths. Journey drooled, watching the bathtub fill up half-way. 

      Once half filled, Journey adjusted the dials to a lower setting, and dipped her toes inside. Her entire body tingled as she sank in. 

      “This is so good!” She squealed with pleasure as the water came up to her breasts, and then met her collarbone. The tub was just wide enough for her to move around, and her head rested along the smooth slip of the edge. She supposed the tub was big enough for two?

      “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Ms. Chase.”

      “What the f—ck!” Journey nearly jumped out of the tub. Water splashed onto the tiled floors surrounding her.

      “Do not be alarmed Ms. Chase, I merely wish to remind you that you are scheduled to report to the cryo-bay as soon as you are available. It is urgent that you report in no later than six hours.”

      Journey sat in the tub with her knees pressed against the bottom. Her breasts squeezed against the smooth porcelain as she poked her head out. “Can you see me!” She cried.

      “Of course, Ms. Chase.”

      “Don’t look at me!” She had never felt so violated.

      “You realize I am an artificially created being, with no sexual inclinations to speak of. I monitor all rooms for passenger safety, and you can trust my dedication for everyone’s privacy.”

      “Still don’t look at me!”

      “As you wish Miss Chase. I will limit all monitoring to auditory and pressure stimuli during your off-duty hours. However, I will be required by the ‘Comfort Liaison Statute’ to enable video monitoring during your on-duty shifts. This is for your safety, and required by contract.”

      I knew I should’ve read the contract over, Journey swore to herself. She didn’t trust this AI. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to spy the camera’s, before carefully pulling herself out of the tub. 

      “I do find it interesting that a comfort liaison would be squeamish with camera’s.” Dave’s voice sounded suspiciously…human. Journey recognized the humor in his tone, which seemed strange for a computer.

      She chocked on her retort, doing her best not to interject. The last thing she wanted was to provoke a conversation with a peeping computer.

      “You best get ready to report to the cryo-deck. You are scheduled for a six-month hibernation cycle within the next six hours.”

      “I know,” Journey growled. 

      Three hours later, Journey approached the cryo-deck. She was brimming with anxiety, and could barely contain herself. It was always like this before a deep-hibernation. She wished that she never read the manual on how it worked. 

      Normally there was a line leading to the chamber, but because she was on C-deck with the other first class passengers, she found the hallways open and clear. The walls groaned around her, she knew it must’ve been caused by gravitational distortions from a shift in artificial gravity. Journey could feel a dizziness as her body grew lighter. The sudden adjustment caused her to stumble into the room, and directly into one of the mechanics.

      “Ouch!” Journey rubbed her forehead as she pushed herself away. The skin tight body-glove pinched her skin as she moved away. 

      “Sorry,” The mechanic moved forward, grabbing Journey by her shoulders to hold her steady. “The gravity can get a little wonky at times.” 

      Journey heard the spacer accent; it sent a shiver down her spine, and a tingle between her legs. A droplet of sweat strolled between her shoulder blades, and her nipples scratched against the body-glove’s latex material. Her face was burning with excitement. She always found spacer accents to be exotic. The mechanic’s dark brown hair seemed to float from her shoulders. The zipper of her jumpsuit was also dragging in mid-air. 

      “I’m Dithy by the way,” The mechanic smiled, noticing Journey’s fluster.

      “Sorry for running into you,” Journey sighed. Her neck was tight, and she felt her ears pop.

      Dithy shrugged, “It’s no big deal. If anything, it’s my fault. I’m the chief mechanic, and I have the artificial gravity to manage after this.” 

      She motioned for Journey to follow her to one of the pods. The wall was decorated with the cloudy glassed hibernation pods, almost all of them were occupied. Journey’s assigned pod was open, and waiting for her. 

      “As you can imagine,” Dithy continued. “I’m going to be busy all day with this. Once everyone’s on ice, I can finally get this girl soaring like an angel.” 

      “Girl?” Journey bit her lip realizing the mechanic was talking about the ship. “You mean the ship? I’m still not used to that.” Assigning the ship feminine pronouns always felt weird to her.

      “I take it you’ve done this before?” Dithy was playing with the console in front of her pod. It looked like she was altering several settings. 

      “Yes, several times in fact.” Journey crossed her arms over her ample chest. Her firm breasts were sore from being pressed so tightly in the body-glove. She wasn’t looking forward to how they would feel when she woke up. Last time she endured cryo-sleep, her precious girls were freezing upon waking. It took thirty minutes for them to feel normal again.

      “Then you know the deal.” Dithy’s eye twitched as she said the word ‘deal’. The mechanic entered a few more settings on the console before finally stepping back and offering her a hand. 

      Journey took it, the mechanics fingers were callused and hard, and was guided into the small container. The padding was designed to fit her frame perfectly, and she sank into it quickly. 

      Just before the pod sealed shut, Dithy pressed a few additional buttons on the console. Journey couldn’t help but feel like she was pressing a lot of buttons. Before she could ask why, the pod closed.