Chapter 28: JA01-Eta, Day 5, continued

Steve wasn't sure if he should proceed directly to Johnny's room, so he checked the common room to see if Lucy was there. She wasn't, but Anna and Laura were. Steve stopped briefly to talk to them.

"I noticed you were pretty harsh with Karen, Anna," Steve said. "I take it you're among the many people she's insulted and offended over the last few days?"

"Yes she is," Laura interjected, "and she's been damn good about keeping quiet about it until now. I'd love to slap that lovely ass of Karen's until she realizes that she's no better than the rest of us. And I'm not entirely sure she's as straight as she thinks she is. I've seen her eyes when Lucy is playing with Sarah in public. That's another bit that bothers me. I don't think Sarah likes sex with women, but she does whatever Lucy tells her."

Steve tilted his head to one side, and asked. "You sound pretty confident about that. Professional, in fact."

Laura blushed, and nodded. "Not yet, but I was about six months away from taking my boards as a psychiatrist. I've got my degree and done my residency, but I didn't have the license yet."

Steve shrugged. "Licenses are irrelevant now," he said, "what matters is if you can detach yourself from what Karen did to you and your lover, and give her what she needs to heal. Not that I have the slightest idea what that is, you understand."

Laura frowned. "Actually, as amateurs go, you did pretty well. You broke down the defensive pattern that she'd been using to justify her behavior. Now she's facing up to how awful she was, and how close she came to driving someone to kill himself. That bit about making her Johnny's slave was perfect, too. When he rejects her, which I'm sure he will, that will only reinforce her guilt. All we need now is someone to build her back up again."

Steve looked at Anna, then back at Laura. "Do you think you could do it? Could the two of you stand to associate with her long enough to bring her back?"

Anna got a wicked grin on her face. "Laura dear, as a professional, do you think that making Karen our slave, like Sarah is for Lucy would help her get over her guilt? We don't have to actually fuck her, just fuck with her head a bit."

Laura grinned back. "I really, really shouldn't offer a professional opinion on a case I've got a personal interest in. So I won't. But, if Steve feels like it will work, I'd love to push that bitch around for a change."

Steve held up a hand. "No, wait. This won't work if you're vindictive. You've got to be cold-hearted about how you choose to humiliate her, and you've got to sincerely reward her when she does well, or she'll cut her throat within the month. I know that I couldn't do what Anna's suggesting right now, because I'm still too pissed at her. If you're both pissed as well, then maybe we should let Lucy do it."

"Let me do what?" asked Lucy, as she walked up to them.

"Let you build Karen's ego up in a little friendlier format now that Steve's done knocking her down." Anna said.

"No, I'm afraid that wouldn't work out. I'm a bit too pissed at her myself, and Becky and Stacy are worse. She wouldn't last a day, and she'd have eaten a lot of shit by the end of it. That image of Steve's was just a bit too vivid."

Anna considered what Lucy had said. "I guess, if I really thought she wanted to improve, I could help her do it. Laura, what do you think?"

It was Laura's turn to consider the situation. "I'm nervous about it, but I think we can do it. Steve, go ahead and make the offer to Johnny; it's important that he know he's got heavy hitters backing him up, and that he had the option to make her suffer like she did him. I'm sure he'll turn her down, though, and publicly. Then ask around and see if anyone else wants a servant. I'll clue the rest in, and they'll all reject her. Then I'll offer, and Anna can object, and I can talk her into it.

"That should set the proper tone for Karen. Then Anna and I can play good-cop/bad-cop and get her back into shape pretty quickly."

Steve nodded, and turned to Lucy. "Have you talked to Johnny?" he asked. "Should I go talk to him?"

Lucy nodded in return. "Yes, to both," she said, "I told him you'd showed up, and that our keepers were concerned enough about him to send you to investigate. It bucked him up a little, but I think he'll decide they were more concerned about loosing a breeder than about him as a person, and that when they find out he's gay, they'll stop caring."

"Then I guess we'll have to convince him that we care," said Steve, "and that the aliens can go fuck themselves if they don't."

Lucy blinked, then smiled. "Shit, you are a good one. Too bad you don't have tits; I could go for the strong type once in a while."

Steve shook his head, then took his leave.

When he reached Johnny's door, he paused for a second, trying to decide what exactly he could offer Johnny. He quickly decided that all he had to offer was friendship, but that that was worth quite a lot. He buzzed for admission, and was told to enter.

When he walked into the room, Johnny turned to face him. Steve approached him, and offered his hand. Johnny seemed pleased, and took it, shaking it firmly, but not 'showing off'. He was slender, almost gawky. He had the body type that got guys beat up for being 'queer' even if they had a long string of satisfied girlfriends in their wake. Johnny released his hand, and if he was reluctant to do so, he didn't make it obvious. He offered Steve a drink; Steve asked for coffee, and got it, while Johnny got a cup of tea.

Johnny was obviously checking him out, so Steve returned the favor. Johnny was almost 'boyish', with a few of the stereotypical mannerisms of the 'frail gay guy'. He had laugh lines around his eyes, but they weren't laughing now. His eyes were empty of hope, but he seemed relieved that Steve had treated him as a human being, and somewhat surprised. They each looked aside at same moment, and Steve found a seat. Johnny sat down on a chair across from him.

Steve was sorry for him. The lesbians had each other, and the straight women could hope that Steve would take them home with him, but Johnny was alone, and would probably stay that way for years, unless Steve could talk the aliens into looking around for another homosexual man. From what they'd said, they couldn't ask directly, but he supposed he could come up with a query to the room monitors that would get to the right person.

Steve felt responsible for him, and would love to help him out, but he just couldn't get past the fact that he was completely uninterested in sucking cock, or taking one up the ass. He supposed Johnny was good at the former, and Steve probably wouldn't notice any difference between sodomizing Johnny and doing the same thing to Nytoya until he reached around to finish his partner off.

Johnny was starting to squirm, and Steve realized he'd been staring. "I'm sorry for staring," he said, "I was just thinking that it's too bad I'm so straight. I'm already pretty attached to you, just from seeing how Lucy and the others reacted when they heard you were in trouble, but it just won't work on a physical level. I could accept the idea of you blowing me, but I don't think I could reciprocate. I think I could fuck you up the ass, but I couldn't possibly let you do the same to me. So it just wouldn't work; it wouldn't be fair."

Johnny looked hopeful for the first time since Steve had walked in. "You don't know much about gay sex, do you?" he asked.

Steve shook his head. "I've had several gay friends," he said, "but I've never asked them what they did in bed. I was curious, I just didn't want to look like a jerk."

Johnny sighed. "You are one in a million. You even impressed Lucy, and I don't recall her saying anything good about any man, at least in the few days I've known her.

"Gay sex is like straight sex, there's dozens of ways to do it, and different partnerships do it different ways. I've known couples where it was just like you think it is, both partners are equal, and they take turns doing things for and to each other.

"But my relationships were different. I'm a bottom; I suck cock, and take it up the ass, but I don't need to put my dick inside someone to be happy. I'm not a sub, or a slave; I don't like pain, or humiliation, or any of that crap. I like getting off, but it doesn't have to be inside someone. I've even gotten off a lot of times from getting my ass fucked. If my partner is careful, he pushes on my prostate and that's all he wrote.

"I'm not saying I'd turn down a blowjob, but it's not something I need. To quote one of those ancient musicians, all I need is love."

Steve looked at Johnny, and couldn't help but feel... He wasn't sure what he felt. But it was suddenly very important to him that Johnny be happy. And if that sounded suspiciously like the definition of love, then so be it.