Stranded Ch. 01
If you want the actual sex, wait for part 2.
Four years on a remote godforsaken planet. Four of their godforsaken years that is, over ten years back on Earth. He had completed the research that his job entailed in less than two years and sent back the results. Owen wondered, not for the first time if anyone even looked at his work. The initial problem was the ship that should have picked him up and relieved him developed a major fault in its fusion reactor and had to be taken out of service. Given the demand that meant an extra year which would have been fine. Well not fine really, another two earth years without getting laid was far from fine but would certainly have been a lot better than what was now ten years with no hint of when he might be able to go home.
Trouble was, Earth was now at war. Owen didn’t care who started it, the accounts from earth and the planet near the centre of the galaxy differed greatly and he suspected that very few on either side really knew the truth. Whatever that was.
Occasionally given how his mouth could get him in trouble he wondered if there were a conspiracy and they had left him there deliberately and there was no war but given how long he had been following the news from Earth on the sub ether it seemed too elaborate a hoax to carry on for so long. He read research papers in his field and given the spectacular aurora on this planet continued to de research on solar flares and planetary magnetic fields, sending them to his university and even got the three published in Nature magazine. He ignored the suggestions from various sources about where to invest his salary which was still being paid into his bank account but did note on one occasion that were it not for the war, he could afford to pay for someone to come out and bring him home.
At least he was warm. The high tech insulating materials his cabin was built from before being clad in wood from the forest around him would keep it warm in minus eighty Celsius with the titanium wood stove he had insisted on in case there was a problem with the solar panels, wind generator and heat pump. There hadn’t been so far, that was why he was able to get news about the war on the sub ether network. Such a shame it was only information that could travel that way and not people.
Strangely, he had not met any of the locals. Of course, his location was intended to make that unlikely but given that he had now been living there over five times as long as was originally intended he still found it strange. Despite not meeting any of them face to face, he had learned their language. They were telepaths and broadcast their thoughts. His first six months while building his cabin he lived in Janda’s ship. Janda had suffered more than he with the constant chatter of voices in her head whenever she wasn’t busy helping him build the cabin or setting up research instruments. She had only found one way to block out those voices, albeit a very enjoyable way that Owen was more than happy to take part in. He missed her with her ready wit and of course her ready body, small and lithe. Her small stature was typical of pilots with everyone wanting to save money, a woman less than five foot tall and slim with it could save a fortune over three or four jumps through hyperspace.
Over time, he had learned to tune in to individual voices and understand them. Once there was nothing more to do on his research about the planet and its sun, he put his mind to learning about its people. A low tech society but complex and advanced socially. They made decisions by consensus rather than majority voting which meant that if just one person wasn’t happy with something they kept discussing it. For them, it worked. They did not have violence in their society. It had been more than one hundred of their years since they had had a murder. Over eighty since any woman had been raped. Of course , the threat of banishment in the harsh environment where survival on one’s own would be very difficult was a strong incentive to stick to the social norms. Owen worried whether his presence and evidence that it was possible to survive without the support of a loving community in the extreme cold might harm their society and that was the reason they had never approached his humble abode.
“Humble?” He laughed. It had cost millions and was in reality far too big for just one person being designed for up to ten who would move in when he returned to earth except…
He was woken from his reverie by a scream inside his head. Someone was injured. He dressed quickly but carefully. Lack of care could easily kill a man or woman out there. He donned his skis and headed towards the location of the psychic scream that was imprinted in his mind. Behind him he towed the rescue sled that he used when he cut wood for the burner. Never had he expected to use it for real.
The wind wasn’t that strong but given the snow was falling, it was more than he would have chosen to go out in if it wasn’t an emergency. Forty minutes later he was there. A person, sex indeterminate under their furs was trapped by a fallen tree. He looked at how it was lying. He would have to be careful using his laser cutter that he wouldn’t cause more damage. He remembered once doing something similar for a woodsman who had made a mistake with his chainsaw. Then it had been fifteen degrees and a much simpler job but he had still gone through the careful planning that he was known for, even ridiculed for on more than one occasion before proceeding.
Afterwards, he knew he was lucky. There was one particularly close call which if it had gone slightly differently might have resulted in both their deaths.
He could feel the native’s mind despite the fact that they seemed unconscious. He tied them to the sled, covered them with a heat reflective blanket which he also tied down and then carefully skied back. He had an electronic gadget to tell him the direction but in the event didn’t use it trusting to his instincts and knowledge of the area. Despite the adrenaline coursing through his system and his strong desire to get back into the warm cabin, it took him over two hours to get back going against the wind and with the snow getting thicker all the time. He pulled the sled inside the first door and closed it again before untying the comatose body and carefully lifting it through the second two doors which had been built to minimise heat loss when entering or exiting the cabin.
Owen adjusted the wood stove knowing that it would soon feel like a sauna before starting to undress the person whom he was sure would be suffering from hypothermia if he didn’t act quickly.
Soon it was clear the person was female and by earth standards very attractive. Long blonde hair, tied back small breasts, flat stomach, strong legs and a blonde forest protecting her sex.
He wrapped her in warm towels before applying a cold pack to her head injury. He stripped down to shorts before kneeling down to examine her for further injury. Finding none, he set a pot of stew to warm on the stove. The microwave would have been quicker but he liked to do what he regarded as real cooking. Just as well as coffee was all that was left of the supplies he had been left from the ship and he had to be careful with that now and was resigned to only having another year of his morning hit.
The stew with local herbs and roots was good. He ate his and then sat the woman up and started feeding her some of the thick nutritious liquid once he was sure it had cooled enough not to burn on the way down. She swallowed, a good sign. If her swallow reflex had gone it would mean the head injury was worse than he thought. On impulse, he kissed her forehead saying,
“Sleep my beautiful one. Sleep” Owen didn’t notice he had used her language and not his own.
http://caibalonmano.heraldo.es/2008/02/hoy-puede-ser-un-gran-da.html
http://board.hvgbook.net/users.php?0–0–51933
