Elly sat in the entertainment chair, scanning the void for any signs of life. As usual, there was nothing particularly interesting to see. She was crossing through the Helix Nebula at a considerable percentage of the speed of light. She could see stars and gas in every direction, and thanks to her AI system, Vicky, and its VR capabilities, she felt like she had left her little scout ship far behind. She raced naked among the stars, marveling at their cold beauty.

For Elly, there was no need for goggles or other gadgets. Her neural tap connected her flawlessly with the VR system, augmenting her senses with data from the ship's sensors. The system was tied directly to her nervous system and could make her feel, see, smell, taste, and hear anything it needed to. Of course, Vicky was there to protect her from harm, as always. Elly turned to her right and extended her hand. She felt the comparative warmth coming from a proto-star a few light-days away. She could smell the tang of methane and taste the sweetness of free hydrogen that her ship could turn into fuel. She nudged the controls, and the ship changed course.

"Who are you?"

The voice seemed to come from nowhere, but everywhere. Elly shook her head. "Vicky, was that you?"

"Was what me? Are you alright, Elly?"

"Yeah – I just thought I heard something. Never mind"

"What are you? We can feel you, but we don't understand you"

She knew she heard it this time. "Vicky. I may be in contact with someone. Start scanning for foreign signals"

Vicky issued a single muted beep to acknowledge the command.

"My name is Elly. Who are you?"

"We are clee. Are you clee?"

"No. I'm Elly. I'm a human. I'm in a ship, traveling through your part of space. I mean you no harm."

"Harm is impossible. We are clee"

Elly had no idea what they were talking about, but at least they were talking. This was big.

She kept talking with them as she traveled, and it seemed she was getting closer to them. Suddenly, an alarm went off. Vicky spoke, "The ship is off course. I no longer have navigation control. Instructions, please?"

"Do not be afraid. We have found you and are bringing you to us. We are clee. We welcome you"

"Vicky, our ship is under the control of whatever I've been talking to. Just cooperate for now"

She had been in the seat for days now. Even with her nanobots to help, she was exhausted.

"Question. You say you are clee, but I don't understand what that is. Can you describe yourself?"

A long pause followed, and she thought she might have lost contact. Then, suddenly, a bright green light appeared in the VR sky and began expanding. Elly felt warmth on her face. When it faded, a woman appeared. She looked so familiar.

"Kendra, is that you? You can't be here"

"No. We are clee. You asked for a description, but you would not understand. We are not familiar. Clee are not physical. Not like Elly"

"Oh. I see. You are energy then?"

A pause. "Energy is clee. We are clee. We are energy, but more. We see Kendra in Elly's mind. Kendra is familiar"

"I understand. That is a good idea. What would you like to talk about?"

Kendra's image was closer now. She reached up to touch Elly's face. Elly could smell her perfume. That image was breaking Elly's heart. She had been so alone for so long, and sometimes the loneliness was unbearable. In those moments, her thoughts always turned to Kendra.

"You are alone. Clee are not alone. We are always together. We love. We will love you."

And with that, the onslaught began. Suddenly, there were many Kendras, dozens of them, maybe hundreds. They were everywhere, and Elly could feel each of them. They didn't need the crude devices of the entertainment chair. The clee bypassed Vicky and used the neural tap directly. Elly looked around the VR universe and saw luscious brown skin everywhere. She could feel Kendra's lips on hers. Kendra's breath tickled the back of her neck, giving her goosebumps. She gasped. Kendra's beautiful pussy descended on her face. She could smell it and taste it. Kendra's erect nipple was in her mouth, and she was licking and kissing it. Gentle brown fingers caressed every inch of her. Strong arms held her.

The attack grew more intense and became overwhelming. Dildos were moving in her pussy and ass. Teeth nibbled on her neck and nipples. Lips sucked on her clit. Hands cupped her breasts, massaging and kneading her flesh. It was too much to understand. It was irresistible and unbearably intense.

And then the orgasms began. Dozens of them, like waves pounding on a rocky shore. Relentless and overwhelming. A constant stream of aching, straining spasms. There was no time to recover. There was no way to control it. She was losing control of her bodily functions. Breathing was even becoming difficult, and her heart was palpitating. If her bowels or bladder were still functional, she would've lost control of them both. She was dying.

Vicky sensed her distress and tried to intervene, but there was nothing she could do to save her mistress. The clee had bypassed her somehow. She was helpless to protect Elly.

Amid the mayhem, Elly somehow gathered her strength and shouted, "STOP!"

As suddenly as it started, the attack stopped.

Kendra stood on a white, sandy beach with her. Elly recognized it from memory as Diani Beach in Kenya. They had spent an amazing weekend there once. "We do not understand. We love you. Don't you need love?"

"I do. But that was too much. My physical form couldn't cope with so much at once. I have damage now. Can you wait for me to repair?"

"The clee will wait. Time is irrelevant. We are clee."

Elly disengaged the VR system and was surprised to find herself floating near the navigation station. Her body had convulsed so much she had left her chair behind and floated across the cabin. She was thankful she'd disengaged the gravity generator. Otherwise, she probably would've had a hard landing on the deck plates.

She quickly surveyed her body and found quite a few pulled muscles, but no other major damage. Still, she hurt everywhere and was actually hungry for a change. She definitely needed some nourishment and water. Some sleep wouldn't hurt her either.

Elly climbed back into the chair and told Vicky what she needed. The nanobots were already repairing her fatigue and muscle damage, so she plugged an umbilical into her navel to get nourishment. Then she fell asleep.

Vicky woke her 4 hours later. Elly composed a report on her current status and contact with the clee, then had Vicky send it home. She was about 700 light-years from home, but tricks could get the message back to Earth in as little as 20 years.

She plugged the neural tap back in and reached out in her mind. She saw the beach again, and Kendra was there.

"Hello, Elly. The clee have waited. We want to love you. Will you allow it?"

Elly had been advised that, in the case of alien contact, the wisest thing was to cooperate and try to find a way in. She reasoned that the previous attack may have just been an ill-conceived greeting.

"I would like that, but the previous contact was too much for my physical form. Can the clee limit contact?"

"We understand. There are 384 clee. We all wish to love you and greet you. The clee exist in groups of three. Can Elly accept three clee?"

"I will try."

Suddenly two more Kendras appeared on the beach. They laid Elly down on a soft blanket and began making love with her. They were much more gentle this time. Elly felt so much love emanating from them. They touched her everywhere, probing, kissing, and caressing her body most gently. One of them began licking her pussy, while another kissed her. The third impaled her from behind. They brought her to an amazing orgasm, and faded away.

Three more approached, and then three more. They engaged in every possible act of love known to the human race, and because they were virtual, they did things that would be physically impossible. At one point, Elly found herself being fucked by two dildos, while lips were sucking on her clit, and a tongue was exploring her mouth. A never-ending parade of Kendras came to her, three at a time – loving her, milking all the pleasure from her body, and departing.

Vicky managed things much better now. She watched over Elly, fed her, and kept her hydrated as the endless hours passed.

Finally, the greetings ended. No more Kendras appeared. Elly was emotionally shattered. She had felt so much pleasure for so long, and now it was all gone. She turned off the VR system and began weeping. The sudden lack of affection and closeness was devastating.

She was resilient, though. That was one reason she'd been chosen for this assignment. Eventually she shook it off and took stock of the situation. Vicky told her that about five standard days had passed since she'd entered the VR system. Elly sent another status report. She was exhausted, and her body was very sore, but she knew where her duty lay. She gathered what sanity she had left, returned to VR space, and reached out. Kendra was still there.

She smiled at Elly. "Elly is now clee. We are many, but we are one. The clee have a gift for Elly"

She vanished. Suddenly, alarms started going off. Vicky spoke. "Elly, we have a security breach. I can't stop it, honey." It lasted a few minutes, then stopped.

Kendra reappeared. "You have our gift now, Elly. Use it well, and come back to us. We love you."

She vanished and never reappeared, no matter how long Elly called her.

Elly disengaged the VR system. "Vicky, I think the security breach was the clee. They say that gave me a gift. Can you determine what it is?"

"Analyzing now. They deposited a huge amount of new data in the system. I'm scanning it. It seems to be split into several areas: History, Astrophysics, Stellar Cartography, and Engineering. This is interesting. There is an area in engineering that is highlighted with your name. I'm examining it, and it seems to be an engine modification."

"What sort of modification?"

"Holy crap, honey. If this is legitimate, it's incredible. It's a space fold drive. People have theorized about this forever, but nobody has ever been able to make this work."

"Please evaluate it, and see if it looks feasible"

About three hours later, Vicky came back. "Analysis complete. It's not only feasible – it's easy. The clee seem to have analyzed what this ship can do, and custom-tailored a plan to help us. Do you want to try it?"

"Absolutely. They say they love me, and I believe them. I don't think they want to hurt me."

And so two days later, the modification was ready. Elly commanded Vicky to set course and engage the drive. She held her breath and felt a wave of vertigo and nausea, but that passed quickly.

Directly in front of her lay the Earth. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She had been traveling for 53 years, and it took her five seconds to come home. Tears streamed down her face.

In the coming weeks, the agency downloaded and analyzed all the new data. The clee had not always been energy. Long ago, they had been very much like human beings. They had accumulated vast knowledge, but had eventually grown beyond the need for it. They became one with the stars. In their wisdom, they had decided that the only thing worth pursuing was love. It became the basis of their whole existence.

Elly's bonuses and royalties were astronomical. She became one of the wealthiest humans in history. Her parents had passed away long ago from old age, but Kendra had just celebrated her 80th birthday and was still very much alive. She'd had other lovers, but she'd never committed to anyone. Her love hadn't been a lie. It was still burning deep in her heart.

Elly paid for her rejuvenation and a full suite of nanobots. They were married, and found that white, sandy beach again. They built a simple home there, where they lived and loved for many happy years. Eventually, they had a child named Amara, who was very much like Elly, strong and full of wanderlust.

So Elly, Kendra, and Amara left Earth and wandered the stars together. After many shared adventures, they returned to the Helix nebula as a family. They were three. They would fit. The clee welcomed them and helped them transition to a new form. Elly and her little family left their flesh behind to live forever among the stars. They loved well, and they were loved in return. That was no surprise, though - they were clee.