NOTE:  This and all preceding and subsequent chapters
are copyright 1993 by Milford Ray Slabaugh.  All rights
reserved.  Permission is hereby granted to post this story
to other BBS'es, provided it bears this language.
Permission to post to Star*Chat denied.

			     PLANET OF DESIRE

				Chapter 24
		      "Burial, and a Bowl of Oatmeal"

     Of the group of attackers, one had survived unwounded.  He had done
this by the luck of being in the middle of the group and reacting quickly
by dropping to the ground.  His comrade's bodies had fallen atop him and
protected him from the other laser blasts.  He was blood-covered, but none
of it was his.
     Ivan was furious when he saw the captive.  He recognized the man; it
was the black man who had been with McElby the time Ivan had been held in
thrall to the "treestump" plant, the man who had been the first to shove
his cock down Ivan's helpless throat.  As a result, Ivan was pleased with
an angry righteousness to interrogate him ruthlessly, slapping the man's
face whenever he faltered.
     However, little of it was helpful anymore, save as historical fact.
McElby had indeed been in contact with them by sneaking back onto the base
with the aid of confederates, now dead.  The man insisted he had wanted no
part of the entire affair, but had acquiesced when confronted with the
Commander, alive and well instead of dead and lost.
     As for how the Commander had survived, it was a simple matter.  It had
been preplanned; one of Angen's group was in on the trick.  He had let the
Commander go at a specified time, and he was the angel seen swooping down
after him, to block any attempts by other angels to save the Commander.  A
confederate had actually been waiting at a low altitude and caught the
Commander, lowering him to the ground just in time.  The Commander had
apparently repaid his saviors well in the normal coin of this planet.
     After all was done, Ivan looked around, and saw that everyone was
waiting for him to make decisions.  Was he in charge of this group?  Not
any longer.
     "Don't ask me for orders." He told everyone.  "I'm back in the Space
Scouts, as is Commander Martin.  Who's senior around here?"
     "That would be me, sir." came a voice.  Ivan looked and saw the man
wore serjeant's stripes.
     "Good enough, Serjeant." Ivan said.  "You're in charge of this
prisoner."
     "Yes, sir." the serjeant said.  "Any instructions about the bodies?"
     "I'm not your senior officer, damn it!" Ivan said.  He was sick of the
process.
     "Sorry, Ivan." David said.  "These men were all placed on adjutant
duty, under us.  If you'd rather I take over, I'll be happy to."
     "That's okay."  Ivan managed to calm himself, the way he did on a
scouting run.  "They weren't mutineers, you know.  They were following the
orders of the Commander.  We're the mutineers.  They deserve a proper
burial under Marine law."
     "Good enough, sir." The serjeant seemed to approve.  "Shall we choose
a burial detail, or return their bodies to the base?"
     "What do you recommend, Serjeant?" Ivan recognized the tone.
Serjeants were expert at offering advice while pretending to ask for
orders.
     "I think we should bury them here.  You could say a few words and let
that be the end of it.  This is a nice place, sir, not too far from the
base.  It should make a nice cemetery in the future."
     "Very well, Serjeant." Ivan said.  "Pick your men and start digging
the graves."
     Ivan turned around, intending to go back to Andrew's body.  The
attention had shifted away from that place entirely, the place where, a few
minutes before, they had made love (no, his memory reminded him
irritatingly, it hadn't been Andrew he had loved there, but Gorman).
     The scene disconcerted him.  Jablonski was crouched over Andrew's
body, weeping silently but strongly.
     "Sir?" Gorman's voice was timid beside him.
     "Jablonski was his friend." Ivan said, to himself as well as to
Gorman.
     "Yes, sir.  Also, sir...." Gorman seemed to have trouble getting the
words out.
     "Yes?" Ivan said.
     Gorman looked around, they were alone at the moment, equally distant
from the grave detail and Jablonski.  "Sir, I don't know how you'll take
this."
     "Spit it out." Ivan said.
     "Jablonski was in love with Jackson.  Always had been.  It was
one-sided, Jackson was friendly with him but nothing more.  Hadn't you ever
noticed how Jablonski tried to steer you away from Jackson whenever he
could?"
     "I hadn't noticed." Ivan realized it was Jablonski who had engineered
the replacement of Andrew with Gorman on that last love-making episode.
There were other times, Jablonski would step in whenever they made love,
turning their coupledom into a threesome.  It made sense.
     "You two were rivals in love, except that Jablonski always knew he
didn't have a chance with Jackson, and tried to be nice about it.  He kept
hoping though.  Everyone else knew about it and kind of kept quiet.  After
all, what was there to say?"
     "I see.  Well, thank you, Gorman.  It helps to know that."  Ivan
walked over to Jablonski, knelt down by him and put his arm around him.
     Jablonski turned a startled, tear-stained face to his.  "Oh, sir, I'm
sorry, sir.  You need me?"
     "It's all right, Jablonski.  You and I have some crying to do." Ivan
said.
     While the Marines dug graves (David stepped in and insisted that there
be separate graves for each, rather than a mass grave), Ivan and Jablonski
talked.  Ivan coaxed from Jablonski the admission he already knew.
Jablonski had been torn apart inside, first at Andrew's degradation at the
hands of the Commander and fellow Marines, then at losing Andrew to Ivan at
the very time he had gotten free of the Commander.  After that, he had
tried to keep close to the pair, to touch Andrew by sex if not actual
lovemaking.
     Ivan admitted the knowledge of Gorman and managed to turn Jablonski
into a friend, at least, something like a friend.  While the Marines dug
(and broke sometimes for bouts of sex--the planet held sway even in this
grisly scene), the day wore on, and the funeral was held in the dusk of the
dying day.
     Ivan said the words in a book one of the Marines handed him, and found
comfort in his ability to do this for Andrew, even the others.  None of
them had asked to come to this planet, were some to blame if they couldn't
handle what it asked of them?  He also found that the brief wail of tears
at first, and the talk with Jablonski had drained most of his emotion out
of him.  The heart is a cruel bookkeeper; it knows to the ounce how much
any person or thing matters, and when it is gone, allows only the paying
out of grief appropriate and no more.  Ivan thought about faking grief to
make it more seemly, but it went against his grain.  Andrew and he had only
been together a short while, and that was with Ivan still agonizing over
what he had wanted.
     Afterwards, sitting alone in the light of the fires the Marines had
built, Ivan had to admit he didn't know what he wanted.  If he could just
keep out of bed long enough to think about it for a while, get his head on
straight, maybe he could decide.  But passion was too strong, it confused
the brain and slowed the decisions.  He was getting horny now.  He stroked
his cock and looked around at the forms, some sleeping, others obviously
couples or more having their fun.  Who should he join, or wake?
     "Yahoo!" came a shout from the darkness.  A sentry in trouble?  Not
with that call.
     "What is it?" Ivan called.
     "Sir, you all have got to come see this!"
     There was a confused trail of men, Ivan and a few others leading the
way, towards the guiding shouts of the man, brands from the fire serving as
torches.
     A young Marine was sitting in an odd depression.  His clothes had been
shed and lay limp and soiled at its brink.  "Quicksand?" He asked the man.
     "No, sir!" the man chortled.  "I came out here to take a leak and fell
in, and I thought the same thing.  But then, well, sir, shed your clothes
and come try this."
     Ivan looked at it.  It seemed on closer inspection to be some sort of
plant, the way mildew or algae are plants.  This stuff was a single, large
plant in water, but it had completely taken over the small pond, and
covered it with what looked like a bluish oatmeal.
     "You want me to climb into a bowl of oatmeal, Private?" he asked.
There were chuckles from the others.
     "Yes, sir.  You got to try this."
     Ivan looked at the young man, he was quite good- looking.  His hair
was straight and black, and hung limp and wet over his ears.  The face was
clean and sharp, if a trifle longish.  Ivan was reminded of Private Brown
and his long schlong.  That promised to make any lovemaking in this strange
place quite good.  He was supposed to be in mourning, but his heart had
told him he was mostly done, and this would be excuse enough to satisfy
everyone.
     He shed his clothes (placing them where he knew there wasn't
carnivorous grass this time!), and stepped into the pool.  It was water,
and the plant washed against his feet and ankles.  It was a shallow pool.
     "Feels like a bubble-bath." he explained to the onlookers.  "The water
is quite warm, but not hot."  And Ivan didn't say it, the water had the
pink mist in it, enough to stimulate his desire.  He got an erection from
the mere touching of his feet.
     "Come on out deeper, sir." the private in the pool said.  He was
practically giggling.
     Ivan waded out and realized it wasn't a bubbling action, it was the
plant.  Was this like the treestump?  "David, this might be like that plant
that captured me.  Make sure some of the Marines stand by to rescue the
rest of us if this turns bad."
     "Right, Ivan." David said.  "How does it feel?"
     "Like a hot springs, only more--active." Ivan admitted.  "This plant
is pulsating."
     And it was.  Ivan stepped deeper, and the plant allowed him free
movement, taking the opportunity of where it touched him to pulsate against
him.  Like a massage by a plant.
     Ivan waded out deeper and as the plant reached his groin, it kicked
into higher gear.  Another cock-hungry plant on this bizarre world!  It
continued to massage and caress him all over, touching every part of his
body at the same time, pulsating, rubbing him, warm and pleasing.  The
water temperature was just right for pleasure, the plant rubbed and
caressed him with a touch that was wonderful.  On his cock, these caresses
were enough to be like mouths, warm and wet mouths, kissing and stroking
his cock all over.  Like a dozen men had crowded around him, and all of
them had their mouths busy on his cock.
     Ivan couldn't help himself, he uttered groans of pleasure as the plant
enveloped him and he was deep enough, he sat down, ended up entirely
covered and over his head by the plant, and it touched him in all places at
once, even the soles of his feet, his armpits, his balls.  He was
surrounded by a body-stocking of massage.
     He held his breath to let the plant do its work on his scalp, then
remembered the men wondering what was going on.  Reluctantly, he rose again
to a semi-squatting position, and moved around to find a place to seat
himself again.  "I see what you mean, Private." He told the man near him in
the pool.  "This plant is downright terrific.  It's like a massage I got
once in Yokohama."  But he wasn't going to tell that story here.  "It's
safe, and downright, ooh!" the plant had a firmer grip on his cock now.
The pulsations were getting stronger.  The plant gripped him tightly, and
he was being rubbed all over, touched completely, buoyed up by the
experience.  A hundred, a thousand men were touching him, cooperating in
giving him pleasure.  Areas of his body he had neglected or ignored,
revealed their ability to give pleasure to him.  One stalk of the plant
slipped into his ass and pulsated there, not fucking him, just touching him
there as well.
     Ivan lay back and let the plant take him.  His arms and legs were
moved back and forth, around and around.  He let loose groans of pleasure,
dimly aware that the men were laughing at his situation, but not caring.
He was putting on a sex show, and he didn't give a damn about it!
     The private sidled over and kissed him, and he kissed the private,
sliding his tongue into the mouth and this little extra stimulation was all
it took.  He hit orgasm, and the plant went into a frenzy as he did so,
stroking him hard and fast, all over, not just his cock.  Now it felt like
a thousand cocks were pressed against his body, their hot pulsating shafts
rubbing him as they all ejaculated at once.  Ivan's cock was just one of
the crowd.
     The orgasm lasted quite some time.  Ivan realized that this plant was
giving him a multiple orgasm, where climax hits in waves, again and again,
and it was equally obvious to the men around him, who had stopped their
mocking calls and were looking in awe.
     When Ivan at last was done and could breathe again, he found the plant
had reduced to a gentle stroking motion.  It felt great.  "What are you
guys waiting for?  It's great!  Come on in!"
     With yells and shouts, the clothes came off (mostly shorts, some men
had been already nude) and the pool became crowded.  Ivan realized it
extended for some fifty feet in all directions, there was plenty of room,
and plenty of plant to go around.  He just hoped the friendly thing was up
to it.
     It seemed it was.  In no time, the entire group were lying in the
waters and plant, their faces like white raisins in blue oatmeal (Ivan
laughed to himself, love in a bowl of oatmeal!), their bodies being moved
and massaged.  It was a terrific discovery.
     He looked at the envious few still standing guard.  Poor fellows.
Best to be sure before letting them in, though.
     "Where's the private who found this pool?"
     "Over here, sir."
     "Private, I want you to get out of this pool right now.  If you can't,
men on the bank get ready to rescue us all."
     Ivan looked in the light of the brands and the moon overhead (one
moon, heartbreakingly like Earth's in size and appearance) as the private
grumbled, fought his way through men in the throes of passion, and waded up
onto the bank.
     "I'm out, sir."
     Ivan looked him over.  His body was white in the lights, not stained
or abused in any way.
     "I guess it's safe, men.  You guards can come on in."
     The guards were quick to obey, and Ivan settled back.  The plant was
working its magic on him again and he got ready for another frenzy of lust.
     "What the hell is going on here!?" came an angry shout.
     It was Jablonski, standing on the bank, hands on hips, looking and
sounding like an angry mother.
     "Come on in, Jablonski." He called, laughing.  "This is great stuff!"
     "Yeah!" "Come on in."  "Terrific stuff!" the other Marines agreed.
     "I can't believe you people!  Marines died today, and you are all
acting like nothing happened.  What kind of monsters are you, anyway?
Don't any of you have any goddamned feelings?"
     Ivan felt vaguely ashamed, vaguely resentful.  He left the waters and
stepped towards Jablonski.  That was a mistake, his cock proclaimed its
tumescence loudly, protruding in front of him, engorged and almost
twitching.
     "And you, Ivan!" Jablonski was furious.  "You lost the man you were
supposed to love!  Or can any of you even feel love?"
     "Jablonski." Ivan said.
     Jablonski turned and ran into the bushes, back towards the camp.
     "He'll get it over it, sir." A Marine said.
     "Yeah." Another contributed.  "He was like Andrew.  He'd never seen
combat.  You can't keep on crying about it.  You have to keep living."
     "He was in love with Jackson, you know." A third said.
     "So was I." Ivan said.  "But apparently not as much as Jablonski.  Let
him mourn.  He'll get over it."
     And Ivan waded back into the welcoming waters.  The orgy of the plant
went on through the night.  The plant would buoy you up, Ivan learned, it
was quite safe to sleep inside it.  It would massage you to sleep, and
awaken you for another session when you were ready.  Practically the
perfect lover.  If sex was all you wanted.
     When daylight came and the men went back into their camp, Jablonski
was gone.
     "Where to now, Ivan?" David said.  "These men should return to base.
They only came with me as a trap for the Commander and McElby."
     "It's just the two of us, then." Ivan said.
     "Three, sir." Gorman said.  "If you don't mind my coming along."
     "You're more than welcome." Ivan grinned at the big Marine.
     "What about the angels and Slan, though?" Gorman asked.
     David answered that.  "Messages came in before we left.  I was going
to tell you earlier, but with everything, I just forgot.  The angels aren't
interested.  They say they know the answer already.  The Slan say they're
interested, but not right now."
     "Then we go on alone.  Just the three of us." Ivan said.
     And the men split up.  Ivan walked over to Andrew's grave, where a
stick held his helmet over his grave, and his dogtags proclaimed his name.
A small bouquet of jungle flowers lay wilting atop it, probably from
Jablonski.
     "Andrew, I'm so sorry." Ivan said.  "You deserved better than you got
out of life.  I just hope my grandmother was right, and there is a Heaven.
I never cared about that until now.  I hope you're there right now, finally
getting the kind of man you wanted, and that you deserve.  Someone better
than me."
     Ivan looked at Gorman and David, their faces concerned.  "You were
right, David.  It wasn't love."  Ivan sighed.  "But it sure felt good while
it lasted."
     He didn't look back as their feet carried them on the path toward the
Temple of Children.

                      END OF CHAPTER 24
                       TO BE CONTINUED