(Photo credit @ShinyCreature)

“This is The Valiant… responding to distress signal eight-four-seven-six-zero. Do you copy?”

Static hissed in response, cracking with the steady rhythm of a beep. Lance hesitated for a few seconds, listening for any sign of life on the other end of the intercom.

“Uh… once again, this is The Valiant, responding to… uhh distress signal eight-four-seven-six… zero. Do you copy?”

His attempts were in vain. Bucky was the first to pipe up as the leader and pilot of the transport vessel;

“I say we check it out. We’re a long way from anything but asteroids and space dust in these parts.”

“Buck, I think it’s a bad idea! For one, we’re already late with the shipment and two, we’re a tiny cargo ship. What can we do for an entire space station?” Archy contended.

As the navigator of the group, he and Bucky usually butted heads. Daily a fight would break out with Bucky pulling rank in a way that always riled up Archy.

“All I’m saying is that I won’t be able to get to sleep tonight if we don’t at least do something! Besides, we’re already late. Maybe we’ll be crowned as heroes if we save the day,” Bucky laughed cheerfully.

His ego was already too hard to handle for his two crewmembers at the best of times. They would always disagree and try to reason with him, but Bucky’s stubbornness landed them in trouble too many times.

Lance took to the mic once more to try to reach the nearby station;

“SS Oregon, this is The Valiant, responding to distress signal- eight-four… seven-six-zero, do you copy? We’re on hand to assist.”

“They’re not responding, which could mean they’re already dead or were already rescued. We don’t know how long a distress message has been playing. It could be months or, heck, even years!” Archy warned, flicking through recent news bulletins, “I’ve not heard of anything this size going missing in the past couple of weeks.”

“I have to agree with Arch, Cap! This could be dangerous,” Lance responded flatly.

The trio sat in silence with the gentle humming from the ship’s engines to fill the void.

“Come on, boys! Where is your sense of pride and adventure?” Bucky announced, attempting to drive the spirit of his crew.

“We lost that when we started working with you,” Archy joked, “But seriously, I vote that we continue until we hit radio contact and phone it in. Leave it to the bigwigs who get paid for this shit!” Lance argued.

“I have yet to hear a decent reason why we shouldn’t go… and anyway I may have already changed our coordinates,” Bucky laughed, to the dismay of his crew.

—

Shaped like a hornet’s nest, the space station lay still in the distance as the cargo ship edged closer to its orbit.

“Well, at least it’s still in one piece. Doesn’t look like there’s any emergency here either. Are these definitely the right coordinates?” Lance queried, studying the monitor in front of him.

“Dude, I know what I’m doing. There’s nothing else in this area. This has got to be it,” Archy retorted.

Space stations were relatively common within the solar system. They started as Earth satellites and grew into larger stations. Many were set up for safety and re-fuelling purposes on busy travelling routes for freight and tourism. The Valiant had been travelling off-route for a few days to make up for lost time, so finding a station in the middle of an asteroid field was very peculiar.

As they came closer to the docking bay, Lance noticed the red flashing lights in various places, which he assumed was due to the station’s engaged security system. There didn’t appear to be any damage overall and power was still running throughout the spaceport. This gave Archy an uncomfortable feeling.

“I feel like we’re walking straight into our graves here,” he announced glumly.

“Quit being so dramatic! There’s no turning back now,” Bucky retorted as he manoeuvred the cargo ship into an empty docking platform.

The cargo ship hummed as it communicated with the station’s onboard computer system and docked successfully.

“Touchdown! Now let’s go save the day, gentlemen,” Bucky stated, reaching under his chair to search for something.

“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” Archy moaned.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this to protect us,” Bucky smiled as he pulled out a large blaster gun from under his seat, cocking the forend and arming the laser.

“Now we’re definitely going to die,” Archy retaliated.

The boys prepared to leave the cockpit. First, Lance inspected the conditions of the station’s zero gravity and oxygen supply before grabbing his own handgun from his locker.

Archy adjusted his flight suit, a standard-issue uniform from the courier company they worked for. A tight one-piece oversuit in solid grey with black embellishments and fluorescent yellow trim. The company’s insignia decorated the back of the suit with the employee’s name and title etched below the breast pocket. A belt provided some minor equipment to help in case of an emergency and a radio to communicate short distances.

The airlock door swooshed open to an ear-splitting screech from the security system. Red lights flashed ominously in the sterile empty hallway as the trio stepped onboard the station. The fluorescent piping of their suits shone in the low lighting and torches attached to their suit’s shoulders to give them visibility.

“I’m assuming there should be several interface systems around the station. If we find one I can probably shut off the alarm,” Lance yelled.

“Sounds good to me,” Bucky shouted back in response.

The three moved in unison, slow and cautious at first but gaining speed as they continued – seeing no immediate danger. The spaceport’s interior was void of any life. The hallways were empty with many rooms inaccessible or locked. There were occasional remnants of where civilisation once existed but a definite lack of any source of danger.

“This sure is gettin’ weirder and weirder, huh?” Archy murmured.

“Could have been some kind of evacuation… but to leave an entire station abandoned in this condition seems a bit excessive,” Lance yelled.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” Archy exclaimed, shining his torch a few feet ahead of the crew.

An inky, black sludge puddled on the hallway floor. The trio advanced to investigate, noticing a solid sheen to the substance. The surface rippled gently as the trio approached, causing Archy to jump back in fear.

“What do you think it is?” Bucky enquired, the torch from his gun illuminating against the goop’s surface.

“Looks like engine oil. Could be a leak from some piping,” Lance responded, while turning to gaze around for a source of the discharge, he spotted a nearby computer system, “Oh hey, that looks like what we’re searching for.”

Lance ran over to the monitor looking for a way to disengage the security system. Bucky remained inquisitive of the substance, his eyes transfixed on the slightly lapping exterior. He seemed hypnotised and stood rigid in place. Archy, concerned, put out an arm to shake the bedazzled pilot.

“Bucky? You ok?” He asked.

The alarm silenced, followed by Bucky ambling out of his trance, dazed and confused.

“Uhhh yeah… I’m fine,” Bucky responded.

“Well, at least I managed to shut off the security alarm. Let me see if I can tap into the network and find out what the hell is going on here,” Lance chimed in, tapping away on the monitor.

“Does anyone hear that?” Bucky questioned, looking around to see the source of the noise, “It sounds like people. Voices.”

“I can’t hear anything. My ears are still ringing from the alarm,” Lance answered.

“It’s coming from over here,” Bucky exclaimed, already sprinting down the corridor.

“Hey, shit! Wait up! Don’t run off,” Archy yelled anxiously, chasing the pilot.

“I’m gonna wait here. Radio me if you actually find anyone,” Lance instructed.

Archy sprinted after Bucky, passing several similar-looking puddles of ominous black liquid. Their situation was starting to make him more and more anxious. Coming to a large storage area filled with containers and lifting equipment, Archy called out for Bucky and tried searching for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

Archy hit the comms button on his radio to phone the pilot but there was no response. He did the same to speak to Lance;

“Dude, I’ve lost track of Bucky. Can you see anything?” Archy asked.

“I’m trying to tap into the cameras but with no joy. Have you tried radioing him,” Lance suggested.

“Yeah, but he won’t pick up. This place doesn’t feel right. I think we better get out of here,” Archy cried.

“Well we won’t be going anywhere unless we find our dumbass pilot,” Lance joked.

Archy’s paranoia increased as the lights in the large room began to dull.

“What the hell…?” he exclaimed, “Dude something is happening with the lights. I can hardly see!”

“Yeah, the same thing is happening here. Maybe the power isn’t fully active. Come back here and let’s figure something out,” Lance advised.

“Ok on my way,” Archy responded, his voice shaking with concern.

CRASH.

Archy glanced behind him in fright. Some containers had fallen to the floor, which was the cause of the ruckus. Attempting to mentally calm himself, he called out for Bucky once again. Archy turned back to walk in the direction of the exit when suddenly he collapsed in absolute fear. The figure of a vaguely humanoid being had crept up on him.

The being towered over Archy. Calcified with fear, he could only gape into the reflective surface where the figure’s eyes should be. Its shiny black head was an expressionless shiny dome. Its breathing hissed as air pushed through ridges where a mouth should be. The navigator could see his own dismayed reflection in the lenses of the being’s gaze.

Its body was semi-humanoid. The entire surface was covered in the same glossy rubber as its head. The figure’s body loomed like a hunter over its prey. Archy could feel the threatening aura from the creature as it crouched down, its rubber body squeaking as it moved to place both arms on both of Archy’s shoulders.

“Get off me! Help! Help!” He pleaded, kicking and struggling under the force of the offender.

His struggles were in vain. The being was physically more assertive and held Archy firm to the hard ground. Archy attempted to grab his radio receiver, but it was too far out of reach on his belt. The rubberised figure reacted to this and wrapped its cold, slimy hands around Archy’s wrists.

It knelt to press its large muscular body against the struggling navigator leaning in as if trying to comfort the terrified male. With their faces now inches from each other, Archy got a glimpse of something underneath the mirrored eyes of the rubbery head. Human eyes gazed vacantly out from behind the mirrored lens. There’s a human underneath this? The stare looked weak and void of any expression.

The being had a pungent smell of a kind of synthetic chemical, making Archy feel powerless and non-resistant. At the figure’s mouth, solid rubber began to gather, forming a phallic cock shape. A dark liquid dripped onto Archy’s stunned face as the cock grew in size. Once the rubberised figure had finished growing its mouth-dildo, it slowly descended to come in contact with Archy’s lips. At first, he tried to resist, but the scent intensified, weakening the navigator and causing him to surrender.

The cock eased its way past Archy’s lips and teeth, filling his entire mouth. Fluid continued to ooze from the latex phallus. At first, Archy tried to resist struggling to expel the liquid from his filled mouth somehow. In the end, he had no choice but to swallow the harsh, chemically-tasting substance. He shut his eyes in disgust as his lips met with the base of the mouth-dildo. From the outside, it looked as if a human and a rubberised figure were engaging in some kind of perverted make-out session.

As the fluid continued to pour down his throat, Archy was forced to swallow more and more of the goop. Little did he know that this was liberally lubing his throat in preparation for the rubber phallus to extend beyond just his mouth. It continued its journey into the depths of Archy’s stomach releasing even more liquid directly into his system. Suddenly the navigator struggled to breathe as he felt an immense pressure building in his oesophagus.

He thought he was going to die. He moaned and groaned until the base of the dildo broke away from the being’s face and Archy felt air entering his lungs. With the rubber cock now embedded in his throat and stomach, fluid continued to flood into Archy’s belly. His eyes glossed over as it was absorbed into his body.

Powerless to stop it, the being ripped apart Archy’s flight suit to gain access to the navigator’s virgin butthole. A rubber cock grew from the figure’s null crotch as he repeated the earlier action but aimed at Archy’s ass instead of his mouth. The crewmember would feel the discomfort of the onslaught – if his brain wasn’t delirious from the chemicals soaked up by his body.

His mind was beginning to succumb to the changes the rest of his body had started to experience. Voices and memories assaulted his brain. He learned of the rubberised alien form discovered by scientists on this very space station. They originally thought they’d discovered a new element. A liquid which seemed to move and change its structure in different atmospheres and situations. It became apparent this wasn’t the case when the sentient substance converted one of the scientists which eventually took control over all life on the station.

The fluid attaches itself to living tissue, altering everything in its path. On entering the bloodstream, the alien virus travels to the brain, where it connects directly with its host. There it can control people like puppets eventually breaking them down to be nothing but the mindless drones it needs to carry out its actions.

Archy was now fully aware of the purpose of his conversion. His body had already grown a thick black outer skin while his rubber fucking session turned to immense pleasure. The cock in his ass shot liquid into him with each thrust speeding up Archy’s conversion. His mouth, nose and ears disappeared as a solid rubber orb covered his head. The navigator’s new skin grew large muscles and his height increased well past the small male’s previous length.

Once his conversion was finished, the rubber fucking came to a climax as the alien over him thrust hard into his ass as the dildo detached itself from the being’s crotch. Both stood looking almost identical to each other. Two rubber-coated aliens gazed into each other’s mirrored lenses.

“Welcome to the hive,” a strained voice said directly into Archy’s broken consciousness.

If he had any of his old self still intact, he would know that the voice was that of his courageous pilot, Bucky. In fact, he’d just been fucked and converted by the man who got him into this mess.

“Come in, Archy. Where are you, dude?” Lance’s voice emulated from the discarded radio laying next to Archy’s tattered uniform on the floor.

The aliens were created to serve one purpose and that was to assimilate all in their vicinity. The alien substance could infect and control inanimate objects too. So the station’s computer system was already in its control. This was how the alien hive planned to access the outside world and learn more about the human race. The recently converted aliens had live feeds from the ship’s camera system projected on the inside of their lenses.

Archy and Bucky could see their old crewman, only now this was their new target. Both set off ready to do as they were instructed.