01 Taxilas Children

TAXILA'S CHILDREN
He lay there for a while, the house was completely quiet. The night was oppressively hot,
he threw off the light cover but still didn't feel much cooler. The heat had lingered from the
day, seeping into the structure of the house. The days had been getting hotter and it wasn't
comfortable anymore to bask into the afternoon. He couldn't think of their star as the 'sun'. It
wasn't his sun, it was an alien star whose light was spectroscopically different to the Sun. It
was over his head and it shed light upon this world - but it was not his 'sun'.
He fell asleep after a while, it was a night of dreams. This time, the afternoon visitor
returned on his ridiculous mount. He looked ridiculous because his mount looked ridiculous.
He was very angry and threatening but Steve laughed because he looked so stupid on his
crazy animal. The rider pulled his tunic over his head and threw it at him. Steve woke up
again and thought hard about the dream and decided that his hormones were really
complaining.
It was much later when he finally fell into a sleep that was dreamless. It had grown a little
cooler. His sleep didn't last long, this time the doorbell chimed, or maybe it was the
visiophone with Laura on the other end, telling him that he had to leave and go to some dusty
mining site at the end of nowhere. Steve woke up and collected his scattered wits. He sighed
in exasperation, it had been the Bole. During certain hours, if it wished to attract attention, it
would give this utterly stupid ding-dong noise.
"What the bloody hell do you want at this time of night - a visit to the toilet?"
"Observation. Sensory observation indicates the approach of an intruder."
Steve groaned - not another one!
"Keep quiet and let me handle this."
The Bole made no response.
Steve pretended to sleep and busied himself forming a plan of action. If whoever it was
tried any funny business, he would jump out of the bed and scream blue murder. That
wouldn't make him look very brave but it would arouse the neighbourhood. He could rely on
assistance providing they didn't put their heads under their pillows and pretend that they
didn't hear anything. With any luck, the intruder might even be frightened away.
He tried to watch the window access through half closed eyes. He was endowed with the
asset of long eyelashes, which women loved to stroke. He brought his mind back to the
business at hand. It had to be something to do with the earlier visit, perhaps the unknown man
had returned with a few of his cronies - although for what reason, only time would tell.
He sensed rather than saw a figure enter his room. It stood just inside the window. He
opened his eyes a little wider, it was hard to make out. He wished their planet had a moon, it
would have shed a little light on the scene. He got ready to spring up, his heart was
hammering in anticipation. He could only see one figure but that didn't mean that there were
not others outside.
It moved into the shadows of the room and he tensed. There was a rustling sound and then
silence. He strained his eyes to see into the darkness and then sensed the figure closing in on
the bed. He swung out with his fist but misjudged in the darkness. He heard a gasp and then a
body pinned him down. The body was soft and warm and naked, tense and shivering. Hara
whispered into his mind:
"I heard my Lord call in my mind, I knew that he lusted after me. I have fought against
you, Lord. I would not come to you but then I wanted to."
She moaned into his ear, a moan of longing, of fear, of desire. Steve woke from his trance
state and automatically put his arms around her. She shuddered as if trying to make a final
resistance. He soothed her and tried to quieten her, whispering into her mind and stroking her
flesh. She read his mounting passion and desire and tried to draw away. His body screamed
for her, it had been a long time since he had been with a woman. He forced her down on the
bed and took her, loving her. After the first time, she wept. No one had touched her before.
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