Rax

by Maia Starr

  I gasped as he entered my body, and I gaped at him. He was the most handsome being I had ever seen; his pale blue skin flawless in the sunlight. His muscles were enough to make any man on earth envious, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the perfection of his features as he stood before me, readying himself for his next thrust.

  I closed my eyes, gasping again as he did so. My body was electrified as he pried my legs apart and entered me again and again, the assertive heat of his shaft filling me with untold pleasure.

  He gazed at me, and somehow, without him even saying a word, I knew that he had been waiting for this moment just as long as I had. I stifled another moan of deep pleasure as he dropped his hot lips on my breast and tugged my nipple, massaging it with his tongue and sending a new flood of heat rolling over me.

  I cried out, shock and desperate desire flooding me. I ached for release, but it was something that he was taking his sweet time in doing. When I caught his eye again, he was smiling at me as if he knew just how crazy he was making my body, and I bucked my hips to drive the point home.

  This seemed to pleasure him, and he growled lightly, whipping me around so that I had to brace myself with my hands against the tree as he entered me from behind.

  I nearly shouted in ecstasy, but I knew that if I did, we would have more problems on our hands than we could count. Finally, the strong wave of heat within me began to reverberate into a crescendo and I gritted my teeth, panting softly as Rax’s body took me to new heights.

  I hit the ceiling of my ecstasy with a bang, and shuddered beneath his touch, my body trembling as my climax began to wash over me with a sudden force. Rax seemed able to feel the sensual contractions of my pleasure around his member, because he sped up his pace, enhancing my desire and suddenly unleashing a powerful torrent of his own within me.

  I cried out softly, and his hands tightened around my waist as his pace increased until he had unloaded every last drop within me. He slowed down and then removed himself gently.

  I was surprised to feel his strong arms around me, hugging me into his chest suddenly when we had finished.

  “I want to claim you as my own,” he said, his voice deep and apologetic. “I wish that there was some way that I could…”

  He trailed off and turned away from me abruptly, gathering his clothes and sighing deeply. I had already known that he would have claimed me if I could. Some part of me had known it since the second we had laid eyes on each other. But now, I wished more than anything in the world that I had never seen the likes of Keldon Marcsu.

  ***

  “Keldon Marcsu!”

  “Commander Rax Veda,” Keldon Marcsu said, his voice not nearly as enthusiastic as Rax’s was. “I have been waiting here for you for a very long time. It has been far too long. My father is going to hear about this. You can mark my words about that.”

  Fortunately, Rax did not seem phased by the threat, and his broad smile didn’t falter in the least. He was relieved to have found the Emperor’s son alive and well. Now, he knew for sure that he would be able to complete his mission and return home as a hero. In a way, I was very glad for him. This was something that had been weighing very heavily on his mind, and it had been obvious for many days now that he was losing progress on his mission. I was afraid for what might happen to him once he returned home, and felt concern about whether or not he would ever be able to get his family out of poverty. But, was his family’s poverty really good enough price to exchange for my freedom?

  Regardless, I hadn’t been able to leave his side. Even when I had been tempted to run away and escape into the forest, somehow, something had always managed to stop me. I wanted to be near him. The idea of leaving his side was impossibly difficult for me to fathom. I wanted to make sure that no matter what happened, I would be with the person that I cared most about. And, somehow, that person had turned out to be Commander Rax.

  “You can tell your father anything that you would like to. It will not change the fact that you are home safely. Now, we really must be getting to the other crew members. We have spent enough time searching for you in this area. Come, hurry. We must go now. before it is too late.”

  Even Keldon Marcsu could not argue with the logic of the statement, and followed Rax as we moved swiftly through the forest. After the encounter with the monster when we had first left the forest, I found myself feeling extremely nervous. But, this time, I didn’t even consider wanting to run away from these two Raither men. What I wantedwas to stay close by, so that maybeI would be able to help Rax out with his mission. It was painfully obvious that Keldon Marcsu wasn’t going to do it.

  It was shocking how different the temperature was as we began to move forward. At first, the sun was enough to warm us, but soon, an arctic chill began to make me shiver. Keldon Marcsu glanced sidelong at me, eyeing the tunic that Rax had told me to take for my own, back after he had slain the monster and told me that I needed to warm myself. I was vaguely able to recognize the symptoms of shock, even in myself, and so I had listend to him. Ever since then, I had been wearing Keldon Marcsu’s tunic without even thinking about it. “I want it back.”

  I gaped at the Raither, surprised, and yet not surprised at all at the same time. He was the most selfish being I had ever encountered in my life, and so I pulled the tunic off my arms and handed it over to him.

  Rax watched the display, anger and disbelief etched on every surface of his face.

  “Here, human. Take this.”

  I tried to protest, but before I could, Rax had already draped his own tunic over my shoulders. It was warm from his body heat, and it smelled like him. It sent a small wave of desire coursing through my body as I remembered how intimate we had been only just a few days before. I wanted so badly to be able to have a normal and healthy relationship with him, but under the circumstances, it seemed impossible for any of that to happen.

  “Please, I don’t want you to be cold,” I said, trying to fight against the heavy fabric that he had draped over my shoulders. I didn’t want him to be cold either. But he looked at me steadily, and I knew that there was no use in fighting him. He was going to do whatever he thought was best, whether I liked it or not.

  “Human, it is far more important for you to make it then it is for me to be comfortable. If you are too cold, then you know that you could die. It is not safe for you out here. I honestly should not have brought you this far with me, but we have to try and find the other crew members. And there is no other option. So please, just do as I say and you will survive. Okay?”

  Keldon Marcsu watched as curiously, almost as if he was able to sense that there was something strange going on between us. I wanted to tell him all about it. To explain to him that he was nothing to me except a nuisance, and that he was better off staying wherever he had been before we had stumbled upon him in the giant orchard. Rax had been completely right about finding him there, and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride toward the man’s intellect. Everything about him was impressive, and I wished that there was some way that I could let him know that.

  He seemed to be completely confident in himself without needing the constant validation a human man or a Raither like Keldon Marcsu seemed to require. In a way, that was disappointing, because it didn’t give me the excuse in order to be able to talk to him. But at the same time, it was reassuring. He was confident in his own capabilities, and it made me truly believe that no matter what happened, I was going to survive.

  We walked for several hours, and then Rax stopped suddenly. At first, I was alarmed, and couldn’t help but worry that perhaps the cold had gotten to him after all. He was wearing only a black tank top underneath his tunic, and his bare, muscular arms were exposed to the elements. I didn’t know what kind of resistance the Raithers had, but judging by the selfish way that Keldon Marcsu had conducted himself, I was willing to bet that they were not much more resistant to cold that humans were.

  “What is it, Rax?” I asked softly, stepping forward and touching his
shoulder. He didn’t budge, and he frowned deeply, pointing to the ground.

  There was a boot, halfway hidden beneath a small pile of dusty white snow. He nodded, silent, and began to dig. It was probably the saddest thing I had ever seen in my life, and soon, I found myself beside him, hoping to ease the burden and help him to make the difficult job at least a little bit easier.

  Keldon Marcsu watched as silently, tapping his foot impatiently and hugging his arms against the cold. He was the most disgusting being on the planet, as far as I was concerned. He deserved to be on this prison planet far more than anybody else, at least in my mind. Then again, I knew that if I really understood the crimes that the others had committed to be banished here, I probably would not be thinking that.

  Still, seeing the grim determination and sadness on Rax’s face was enough for me to condemn Keldon Marcsu with the harshest of fate and punishments in my mind. Finally, the body was completely uncovered, and Rax looked down at it, almost as if you were in shock.

  I guess that he hadn’t been expecting for two of his comrades to be fallen on the planet. But unfortunately, that was exactly what had happened. He only had one other Raither to try and rescue, and it is quite possible that he too had met a grisly fate. It was impossible to tell from here.

  The truth was that viewing the corpse of the Raither was quite horrific. He looked as if he had been in great anguish at the time of his death. There was a large, gaping hole in his stomach, and his blood had crystallized in the snow, solidifying everything, right down to the last detail.

  “Did you know him?” I asked suddenly.

  Rax seemed startled by the question, and then shook his head no. Still, I can understand why he was so deeply affected by this. It had sort of become his job to try and shepherd all of the lost souls from the ship’s wreckage so that he could become a bringer of hope and return them back to their rightful homes. Now that his mission was completely useless. Because the only person that he was going to return back to this planet was the selfish son of the Emperor, who, would rather let someone else starve them to suffer from a chill.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Keldon Marcsu said, breaking into the heaviness of the moment. “I’m freezing out here.”

  Rax strained his back and nodded in the direction of the Emperor’s son, and then looked down at his little computer.

  “We have to travel east now to look for the other Raither. And then, we can return to the home location. After that, we will go back to the planet Yala. It will be a relief to be back home, don’t you think?”

  Of course, he wasn’t talking to me, but I couldn’t help but nod my head. Yes, anything would be better than being stranded on this hellish present planet for the rest of my life. I was making up my mind officially now. I did not want to be stranded here any longer. It was impossible for me to become comfortable in a place like this.

  I could not acclimate myself to the constant dangers. Rather than becoming comfortable and used to the place, I would simply become more and more anxious, until all that was left of me was a shell of my former self. I couldn’t let that happen. Even if I was stuck with the selfish Raither, the most despicable creature I had ever met, for the rest of my life, it would probably still be better than losing what it was that made me myself. I had to hold on to my sanity, no matter what the cost. It had to remain intact. I had to be me. It would be difficult, but it would be worth it. I could do it. I would find a way.

  And even if I couldn’t, it would be a way for me to be closer to Rax. If I stayed stuck on this stupid planet, I might never see him again. At furthermore, if I returned with them to their home planet, I could pretend that there was the option for me to one day be together with the research that I loved, so that I would no longer have to resign myself to the fate of being the trophy wife of the biggest spoiled brat that I had ever met.

  “Do you know what the weather is going to be like on this side of the planet?” I asked, hoping to maybe be able to break into Rax’s grim thoughts and help him to focus on the task at hand, rather than to dwell on what he probably considered a personal failure.

  “Well, according to my map, it is a desert. And Raithers are very adept at living in desert climates and the cold. Perhaps, there will still be an opportunity to save the final member of the crew.”

  But he was no longer speaking with conviction, and we moved forward quietly, all is lost in her own thoughts.

  Chapter 7

  Commander Rax Veda

  I hadn’t expected to be so deeply moved by the discovery of the latest crewmember. I could hardly believe the look of pain and anguish on the poor soldier’s face. If the bite wounds were any indication, it looked to me as if he had been massacred by what could only be described as a snow parasite. These types of creatures were extremely dangerous, and always had a tendency to pop up when they were the least expected. Not only that, but they were able to change their size at will. It was lucky that we had gotten out of there when we did. There was no telling what kind of dangers we could have faced if we had stayed any longer.

  “What’s the first thing that you’re going to do when you get home?”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the human, who had been doing her best to make light conversation the entire way out of the horrifying tundra and toward the desert.

  Keldon Marcsu had been silent the entire time, and seemed to disapprove of the way we were making conversation. He could have contributed at any point, but he chose instead to try and make us feel miserable for doing what we could to pass the time together.

  “I think that the first thing that I’m going to do when I get back to the planet Yala is to make some bread.”

  The human seemed surprised to hear this, and let out a soft giggle.

  “You want to make bread? Why?”

  “Because I am not enjoying the food here at all,” I said, with a shrug. “I do not feel like my muscles are being well-maintained, and by using the sacred wheat on our planet, it will help me to restore the strength that I am losing by allowing my body to go on being malnourished in this horrible environment.”

  “You would think that the people who sent you out here would think to send some supplements,” the human said, laughing to herself quietly.

  I didn’t quite see the same humor in it as she did, but I couldn’t help but smile. Her laughter was contagious.

  I shook my head and continued forward, wondering to myself just how long it would be before we finally encountered the final missing crewmember. According to my computer, it would only be a matter of hours, but sometimes, these things took a lot of time. Especially if any unforeseen monsters happened to show up.

  Fortunately, the rest of the journey went smoothly, much to my surprise, and we quickly located the final crewmember. He had made himself a very clever shelter, and had chosen the desert area, probably because the types of creatures that lived in the desert were usually fairly peaceful unless they were taunted. If they were not provoked, most of the creatures who lived in such climates were generally the type to keep to themselves. However, it was still a gamble. Especially when considering the fact that we were all on a prison planet, and the highest security prison planet in the universe. Who knew what kinds of misdeeds these creatures must have done to land themselves here?

  And yet, none of the three of us in the group had done anything particularly horrifying. It was starting to make me wonder a little bit about the rest of the creatures who had been imprisoned here. Most creatures got a trial, while others were simply dropped off and a report was filed to the Federation about their conduct. If enough witnesses were present, it was usually enough to keep the creatures imprisoned indefinitely.

  “Are you all right in there?” I asked, quietly. I wasn’t going to let myself get my hopes up. After seeing what I had in the dark recesses of the snow parasites, I knew that it was probably of that idea to hope that of crewmember that had moved in a long time was actually going to be a survivor that would be going home
with us.

  “Who’s there? Please, go away. I can hurt you.”

  A jolt of excitement surged through me, and I exchanged of thrilled look with the human. She was beaming, and waited for me to make my move. I ducked down, looking seriously into the makeshift shelter that the Raither had constructed in the desert.

  “I know that this is going to be very difficult for you to believe,” I said evenly. “But I am here from our home planet, and I am going to take you back. That is, if you would like to come with us.”

  The Raither in the shelter scrambled out, gazing at me in disbelief. “Are you really sure? You know, a lot of people start to go insane on this place. How do I know that you’re not just feeding me some delusion?”

  “Because I would not let one of my Royal subjects delude another into having false hope about their rescue. My father has sent this man here to liberate us from this prison planet, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”

  The surviving Raither gaped at Keldon Marcsu, and then suddenly dropped to his knees in a deep bow.

  “Please, forgive my insubordination.”

  Keldon Marcsu smirked, clearly pleased by the display. “Finally! Someone who knows how to treat royalty around here.”

  I glowered inwardly but said nothing.

  “You two would do well to take a lesson from this man. What’s your name?” Keldon Marcsu asked.

  “My name is Lars.”

  “Well, Lars, once you come home with me, you and I are going to have to talk with my father, then you are going to be rewarded for your bravery here.”

  This seemed to fill Lars with a ridiculous amount of joy, and he beamed at the son of the Emperor, clearly starstruck. It was kind of disgusting in a way, but I couldn’t blame either of them for the way they were acting. It didn’t do any good to blame others for simply doing what came naturally to them. I would just have to hope for the best.