Roswell Fanatics

Title: The Castaways.
Author: ken 242 AKA ken_r AKA Kenneth Renouard
Adult UC Max/Maria,Tess, Liz

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim any ownership as to the names or characters used in this story. I have tried to keep to the correct characterization and hope to bring no disrespect to the originators who have given us so much pleasure.

I first wrote this and labeled it: The Prince, the Diva, the Whore and the Virgin. It, at the time, was supposed to be a story of no purpose but to titillate the baser senses. It is posted that way at Roswell Heaven. I may, at some date, bring that story out and update it. Reading it so many times in editing it, I was always bothered that the story was too simple. These people should have more to say about themselves and their passions. Going back and changing a story is often filled with dangers. Too many times you loose the entire story and gain nothing. It will be up to you to say if the story is still interesting or not.

Everything in this story is allegorical. If you look for meaning, you will find it. What meaning you will find depends upon your own outlook and the insights you bring to the story. If you join me, please have fun and learn from your own mind.

Four people were held by circumstance. Bonded at first by pathos, each story being worse than the one before it, until they reach the last who is to be subjected to sadism and rape. Then they are bonded by passion, They, finally, create new lives for themselves. The lesson they learned was that princes with duties must perform and grow to become kings. Each of us is allowed to be a diva remembering that, even with talent, we will be under the control of others. Then everyone is a whore, giving ourselves to stay alive. Doing what they must to survive. Lastly, every one is a virgin. No matter how many times we do something, there is that one time when the meaning is so strong and it seems so right that we can say this is the first time for us all.





Let me now present the Castaways also known as: The Prince, the Diva, the Whore and the Virgin


Chapter 1

The pilot of the ship held the helm. The atmosphere buffeted the ship’s frame as he strove for control. The frame of a ship was mostly fragile spars and wires. The strength was all in the field surrounding it. The field was such that it was strengthened directly proportional to the force placed upon it. The pilot, mistakenly, was not worried about the ship crashing, but he was worried about the health of the passengers within after a crash. He put all of the energy of the ship into the force field. He had cast out beacons as they were falling. The beacons were all of the trans light variety. They would send out an accelerating signal in all directions. With any luck, they would have help within a one-year unit.

The pilot sent the steward to check on the passengers tell them to get into their liquid viscous pods.

Max was a prince. He was renown for his skill with a sword. He had been his father’s single strength back on the home world. His father, old king Zan, had recalled Max with the express order to return to take a wife. Max could face three-headed dragons and show no fear, but put him in the bedroom with a willing maiden and he trembled in terror. When Max was placed in his pod, he also made sure his war kit was near him. The steward wanted to forbid this because he believed that the weapons within the pod would constitute a more formable danger than Max being stranded with out his tools of defense. Max was a quiet man, but he knew his mind.

The steward went to the other passengers. There was the diva, Maria. She had been off world singing. She was returning to her lover who was a general in the army. The steward personally helped her into her pod. He filled the viscous liquid and carefully made sure all parts of her body were in contact with the flexible covering. She frowned at him as he tucked the covering around her breast and around her hips. The steward paid no attention to any imagined slights her body might receive. As he left he smirked. There were some things he did like about this job.

The next passenger was the lovely dancer, Tess. She was helped into the pod and extra fluid was placed to cushion her diminutive body. Beautifully curvaceous, with curly, blond hair and sparkling, blue eyes, she was the dream of any patron on a dozen worlds. Only the best could afford Tess. She well knew her value and she also knew how to distribute this value to best fit her needs. Her masters were well pleased at her performances. As he ran his hand over her body to make sure she would be covered by the liquid, she made no acknowledgement at all.

The next passenger was another diminutive woman, the sacred princess, Elizabeth. She was the sacrifice raised to serve and die for the health of a people. Her symbolic death would cleanse the souls and minds of millions of people. Her actual death would save the many kingdoms, since it would symbolize the sacrifice they were willing to make to keep their treaties. She had been prepared since birth that she would never see the age of twenty. Nothing in her training had allowed her to see beyond this magic number. The steward held her hand as she daintily stepped into the pod. She smiled completely without fear since no matter what happened, her life was almost over anyway. For some reason, the steward did not take any liberties with her.

The steward continued on from passenger to passenger. Then, he returned to the Captain. The Pilot was still struggling with his controls. He, finally, set them to the automatic crash procedure. The crew retired to their own safety containers and the ship crashed. On impact, the force field screamed. As the forces of impact pushed in on the ship the force field pushed out until, finally, the ship just crumpled. With its field destroyed, the fragile framework just fell apart.

Unfortunately, the crew’s quarters were the first to collapse. Most of the passenger pods also ruptured and their cargo was crushed. In the middle of the ship, there were four pods that managed, by only the arbitrary act of fate, to survive. After the holocaust was over and all was quiet, the first of the four pods moved. It split apart and Max stood up. His uniform suit was dripping in slime and fluid. His weapon pouch was still by his side. He stood in the darkening twilight. In the next pod was the diva. She crawled out and glanced around at the wreckage. Next was the dancer. She stood up and stretched her cat-like body. She looked around and was disappointed to see only a prince and a diva standing before her. In the last viable pod, was the sacrificial princess. Her eyes were wide as she looked out and saw only wreckage around her. The three women looked to Max as if to say, “What next?” Max, in his mind, resorted to his training. First, they needed shelter. Next, they needed heat and then, they would need food and water.

Max pointed to the diva, Maria. “Look for an inflatable shelter,” he told her. Maria had no idea at all what an inflatable shelter looked like. And, if she did, she was not sure why she should be the one to do the work of finding it.

Max was dismantling the skin of the ship which hadn’t disintegrated in the crash. He was looking for non-ruptured power packs. As he found them he motioned for the dancer, Tess, to take them. She dutifully stacked them in one pile. There was a cry from Maria, “Is this what we are looking for?” She had uncovered a container marked, “Emergency shelter.” Max smiled at her. Even with her complaints, she had done a good job. Now with a few more preparations, they would have shelter and warmth for the coming night.

Finished with his salvage of usable power packs, Max turned his attention to food and water. He found two water bladders in the wreckage. One was leaking and he immediately gave it his attention. He managed to perform a temporary patch so at least some of the water would be saved. The other bladder was intact as far as he could see. Max motioned for the princess to come over and he began to give her food packets to stack. Max worked in the twilight. The fact that the twilight was still with them worried Max. A long twilight meant a long night. That could mean a cold night.

Max directed his three, by circumstance, companions and they all began to lay out the shelter. When it had been laid out, Max hit the button and compressed air filled the structure. The small shelter erected itself. They made a chain and Max began to hand them the food packets. The final person in the chain, the princess, carefully placed the packets in the shelter. When they had done all they could, Max led the other three into their new home for an indefinite time.

The one thing the shelter did not offer was privacy. There was a sleeping area of an air cell mattress that could comfortably hold three people. Tomorrow, Max would see about connecting sanitary facilities and a tap to the water supply. For now, they only had to endure the night forever how long it lasted. He noted the time.

Tomorrow, Max hoped the shelter would be more endurable. The sun would recharge the cells in the wall and the heat sinks would store it so the evenings would be more comfortable. No, the only thing he could suggest was for them to huddle together and share mutual warmth. The dancer shrugged and snuggled up against Max. The diva, like wise, curled up with the other two. It was the princess who stood trembling as she looked at the others. Her lower lip was trembling and she was shivering. Max motioned her to come over. “I am to keep my self pure. You do not understand. I am to be sacrificed as soon as we make planet fall. My whole life has been to dedicate myself to this. I am not to allow undue contact with any man,” she murmured.

Max stood up and picked up the princess. He placed her between himself and the other women. She was remarkably compliant even though she had given warning about her sanctity . The mattress was such that it held the body heat and snuggled together, the four people soon were asleep.

Max woke up. He looked at his chronometer. They had been asleep for almost ten hours. As far as he could see, the twilight was still the same as when they had retired. He rose and unzipped the door. Stepping outside, Max was greeted by a tremendous sight. The planet had a moon. The moon was either huge or it was very close. The brightness of its reflected light lit up the whole landscape before him. It was so bright that he could not look at it for any length of time. The light was purely reflected and gave back no heat. The night was cold as Max went to the edge of the wreckage area to relieve himself. On turning back to the shelter, he saw the three women. They were waiting until he would return and give them privacy. Max had to smile. The luxury of privacy might be a thing of the past, but for now, he was willing to humor them. Once inside, Max went about finding the food packets. He laid out four with a bottle of water for each of them. He had another worry as he thought about the length of the night. How long would the day be? If it was the same as the night, Max was sure that, although the shelter would recharge itself, it would probably be too hot to be outside during the heat of the afternoon. The shelter would absorb the heat and protect those within its wall. The heat and sunlight would recharge the power packs so the shelter would have amenities, sparse though they would be.

The women returned and Max helped them to prepare the ready heats, those wonderful packets that prepared the individual hot meals. After they had eaten, Max braved the outside to hook up the water supply to the bladders of the ship. Since the ship ran on hydrogen and oxygen which were derived from water, there was plenty of water for the moment. The shelter did have a toilet, of sorts, that would be powered by the power packs soon to be recharged, Max hoped, by the heat and sun light of the day. The shower was one other amenity that was necessary, but must be used sparingly. There was a body shower. One person at a time could zip themselves into a tight fabric cubical and, when activated, a molecular spray would envelope the body, cleansing it and, then, the water was saved to be recycled. If they were to live in close proximity, this would be a luxury, but not a necessity. The water consumption was slight and, unless it was determined that water was going to be in very tight supply, it was good to keep up morale. Max soon had all of the women helping him. The first thing was to salvage as much as possible from the ship’s wreckage. Max and the princess were going through the stores looking for meal packets. Elizabeth would place them in sacks so they could be carried and stored in the shelter. The other two women were going through the passenger compartments looking for any useful utilitarian items and clothing. There would be a time, much later, when the clothes they were wearing would succumb to the wear and tear of time. Then, any material stock would be pressed into service as make-shift clothing. Any identifiable personal items were to be stored in a locker Max had set aside for this purpose. If and when they were rescued, these items would be returned to the next of kin. As they labored and the sun made its frightfully slow progress into the sky, the heat became unbearable. Max signaled to the others to retire into the shelter. Inside, their body odor became insufferable. Max checked the gauges and determined that the shelter was fully functioning.

The diva, Maria, was the first to go over to the shower. She read the instructions. Maria stripped. She turned and curtsied to her audience. Max had to smile and Maria made sure she gave him a wink and a smile. Maria put her clothes in a compartment and stepped into the enclosure. There was a hum and the occupants of the shelter could plainly see the beautiful diva with her golden body turning and moving within the translucent walls. There was more humming, changing pitch as the different functions occurred. Max couldn’t help but be aroused as he viewed the beautiful spectacle happening before him. The slight noise stopped and Maria stepped out. Her hair had been cleaned and blown dry. Her body glistened with the invigorating massage that it had been subjected to. Again, she smiled at her audience and walked over to the cubical in which she had placed her clothes. When she withdrew them, they were clean and pressed. Maria stepped into her panties and, then, she pulled up her slacks. Lastly, she turned and faced Max as she adjusted her bra. Still smiling, she pulled on her shirt. Except for footwear, Maria was clean and dressed. Tess removed her clothes where she stood. She walked naked to the enclosure and, likewise, placed her clothes into the cubical. Tess made no notice of those watching her, especially Max. She simply stepped into the enclosure and started the cycle. Max could see her body, a lighter color than Maria’s, turn as she gyrated to get the full benefit of the treatment. When she finished, Tess simply stepped out, picked up her now clean clothes and walked back to the sleeping platform to dress. Tess showed no self consciousness from being watched, either as an exhibitionist or a flirt. She was totally indifferent to the rest of them.

Maria indicated the princess. Elizabeth cringed pulling her clothes tighter about her. “I am to be seen naked only on the day of my sacrifice. To be seen by others before this, would be sacrilegious,” she stated.

Tess looked up, “Look princess, we are all in this shelter together. I do not care how holy your body is, when it sweats, it stinks. Get yourself in there and take a shower like the rest of us.”

Elizabeth looked as if she was going to cry. Maria took a reflective blanket and held it around Elizabeth. She moved her over to the door of the shower. Elizabeth removed her clothes and after handing them to Maria, she slipped into the shower. Maria placed the clothes in the cleaner and stepped back. She turned to Max who was transfixed by the sight. Maria smiled and stepped aside so as not to impede his view. The tan body of the princess seen through the walls, was clearly giving Max trouble holding onto himself. Maria laughed and was clearly enjoying his discomfort. Tess, however, looked at both Max and Elizabeth with indifference. When the shower stopped, Maria quickly again held up the blanket. As soon as Elizabeth was out, Maria wrapped the blanket around Elizabeth and reached for her clothes. Again, holding the blanket and looking away, Maria waited until Elizabeth was fully dressed. Then, Maria went to the bed platform and sat down. “Your Excellency, now it is your turn. Unless, of course, you want me to hold the blanket for you,” Maria said with a twinkle in her eye.

Max shook his head. He went to the door of the shower. With a grimace, he dropped his clothes and bent to pick them up. As he turned to place them in the cleaning cubical, Maria gave a whistle. This not only further stirred his arousal, but also caused him to blush a dark red from the top of his head to his toes. Max turned to look at his tormenters. Tess and Maria were clapping and laughing. The princess was hiding her face in her hands. She was aghast at the sight. With all the dignity Max could muster, he stepped into the cubical and started the cycle. Although the noise of the cubical masked some of the noise from the ladies, Max could still hear the ribald comments. He could, also, remember how clearly the image of those within the cubical stood out to those looking in. As Max looked out, the translucence was blurred enough that he could not even see a shadow of those sitting on the platform.

When his shower was over, Max, again, was subjected to comments as he stepped from the cubical. He removed his clothes from the cleaner redressed. Max checked his environmental dials and noted it was well over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit outside. He noticed that the power packs were charging with power to spare. This evening, Max would try to remove the larger power packs from the crash sight and install them into the power grid. He might even try to take one of the bladders off line and reconnect it to a small sink from the ship giving hot water for washing and cleaning. On this day, the sun was shinning brightly, but Max noted the lush vegetation. He understood that to have that much plant life, you had to have storms. There could be days when the sun would not shine and power would only be what they could store ahead.

Maria started the conversation, “Mr. Prince, what takes you out into space without an entourage?”

Max looked down at his hands, “I was supposed to return home to be married.”

Maria raised her eyebrows, “Why the long face? it seems that would have been reason to be happy.”

“I am to marry a woman whom I have never seen. Her only obligation is to produce a genetically proven heir. Then, she can return to her lovers and resume her own life. I saw that with my mother. Once I was born, she had no interest in me or in my father. True, he no longer had any interest in her. I was in the middle between them neither wanting me until I reached manhood. Then, I was trained in the ways of war.” Max was looking afar as he spoke.

Maria looked at Max, “Wouldn’t the same thing hold for you? Once you had a proven heir, you could also return to your previous lovers and life.”

Max blushed, “That is not my way. I remember too well the loneliness I felt with both parents ignoring me. I want some one who would be with me always and stay with me, someone that I could trust.”

Maria did not smile at this, “Having one person that you think you can trust is not all that it is cracked up to be. “I was 18 when a man came up to my folks. He promised that he could give me singing lessons and make me a great star. He made some sort of money payment for my release. He took me away and he sent me to school. I got better and better in singing. When I was 20, he told me I had to start paying my own way. I didn’t understand, but soon, I would. He outfitted me in beautiful clothes. He booked me into great music halls. The first night I sang, I was a success. He took me back stage and he removed those beautiful clothes and he showered me with kisses. Soon, I was flat on my back and my benefactor became my lover. I was honored until I learned that I was just one in a stable of performers who he tended to. Soon, he tired of my body and he sold me to Lord Rath,” Maria stated.

At this name, Max looked up. He well knew Lord Rath. Lord Rath was one of his father’s generals. He was cruel and vicious to anyone in his path. Many times, when Lord Rath thought king Zan would not be able to know, he had bullied Max. The last time, Max had pulled his knife and Rath just laughed. Do not think you can provoke me into a fight with the king’s heir. I am not a fool, but stay clear of me little one, or I will have someone else step on you and I will not need to dirty my foot.

“Now, Lord Rath,” Maria continued, “sends me on tours until he desires my presence. Then, he orders me home to be his doxie until he has his fill and soon he leaves me again.”

“At least you only have one man to use you,” Tess said. “When I was seven, I was sold outright to a slave dealer by my father. I cried as father left me, but the slaver just laughed. He said I was to learn new things now. For the first five years, I was put in a school of dance. This wasn’t so bad, but the hours were long and hard. At the age of twelve, I was sent to another school. Here, I was taught different dances, most of which I did not, then, understand the meaning of. After four years, I was sent to another place. Here, I was given only a robe. I had to sit in a cubical with a window open to the street clad only in this robe. From time to time, some man would come by the cubical and place an amount of money in the slot and the doors would open. I was to follow him to another room, behind the cubical. This room was private. Here, he would proceed to take me in any way he wanted. There was an overseer to make sure I wasn’t permanently damaged. And, if he hurt me too much so that I would have to miss my shift, he would be fined. At twenty, I was considered graduated and I was sent for extended periods of time to different men. These men paid top money for me and they paid top fines if I was damaged in any way. Now, I am returning from living for a year with a cruel, stupid man who used me until he became tired of my presence. I will be reassigned, as soon as I arrive, to another man and repeat the same thing over and over,” Tess concluded.

They all turned to the princess. “What is your story princess?” Maria inquired.

Elizabeth sat with her hands in her lap, “My planet is poor. We only have one crop and that is children. My parents sold me as soon as I was weaned. I was sold to be a sacrifice for a people far away. My whole life has been in training to accept that, before I am twenty, I will be sacrificed to perpetuate a people and bring them prosperity. My blood will be sprinkled over the land to bring benefit to crops and population. My death will promise these people a long life. My body is to never be seen by man or woman, nor am I to carnally know a man until that day of my death. Then, I will experience all the essence of those who have bought me and take that essence to whereever they deposit my body.”

It was in the matter of fact way Elizabeth explained all of this. There was no sadness in her, because ever since she could remember, she was taught to prepare herself to meet this event as inevitable. Elizabeth showed them the bracelet she wore. They saw that it was a count down timer. It was less than two weeks until she knew that she would meet her death. Her three companions just looked at her.

Author’s note: The planet they are on has a rotation of roughly 48 hours. This means the day was long and at noon it would be too hot to be out. It also means that the nights being long would be very cold. The castaways have a cycle where they got up in the morning as soon as it got warm enough to get out and went in when the sun became too hot. They then would wait until late afternoon or the twilight came and the temperature dropped enough for then to go out again and work until it got too cold. Every rotation of the planet had three work periods and three sleep periods. Morning work, noon sleep, twilight work, night sleep, mid night work inside, and finally early morning sleep until they start all over again.

Chapter 2

The four travelers lay on the sleeping platform. This time, they were not snuggling for warmth, but they remained touching each other as if afraid of loosing one another. They fitfully slept until the alarm went off, alerting them that the temperature had dropped to 90F. It would be safe to go outside once again. This time, they worked differently. There was no bickering. Each person tried to help the other until the time the temperature had fallen to the uncomfortable range where they were, again, forced to go back into their shelter. This time, Maria made no bones about it. Once in the shelter, she had stripped and placed her clothes in the cleaner. She was in the shower cubical. As Max watched, almost hypnotized, she stretched and preened within the translucent walls.

Yes, Maria well knew what she was doing to Max. She knew he would be watching and she knew how to stir his libido. Maria could be a tease and she also could be a lover. When she was finished, she simply picked up her clothes and walked over to the sleeping platform. Maria lay down on her side and watched the others. Tess had already stripped and, as soon as Maria was out of the way, she, likewise, went to the shower cubical. Max, again, watched as if he couldn’t take his eyes off the vision. Tess stretched and bent. Her small frame allowed her to do many contortions within the shower that a larger woman could not. Viewing her was like watching a dance. She was gyrating to some unknown rhythm that she, alone, heard. When she was finished, she also picked up her clothes and returned to the sleep platform. The princess was next. She walked fully clothed to the shower. She opened the cleaning cubical, quickly she stripped off her clothes and threw them into the cubical as she entered the shower. Prince Max was mesmerized by the three girls, ending with Elizabeth. Inside, he was an emotional mess. Elizabeth got out of the shower with her eyes closed. She felt her way to the cleaning cubical. Taking her clothes, she held them in front of her as she hurried to the back of the sleeping platform. She knelt there not moving, still holding the garments in front of her for protection.

All eyes were now on Max, including those of the princess. Max took a deep breath and walked to the shower. He slowly took off his clothes and, just as deliberately, placed them in the cleaning cubical. Then, he stepped into the shower. The three women did not move a bit as they, in concert, watched Max in the shower. He tried not to hurry his movements. He was determined not to allow them to think they could intimidate him. When Max got out of the shower, facing the girls, he stretched and bent his torso to the right then to the left. Next, he slowly moved to the cleaning cubical and picked up his shorts. He wiggled into them, turned and walked toward the women. The shorts covered his body, but not his stirrings. Max had been subjected to extreme stimulation and he could not stop the obvious fact that he was aroused.

The power cells came on and there was no need for snuggling together for warmth. The four people, though, had another need and that was of community. They had shared stories, each more tragic, than the previous one. They would sleep for most of the cold night and awaken sometime to eat and deal with their communal thoughts.

Max awoke first. He looked over across the sleep platform. There were two completely naked women beside him, both stretched out with total abandon. He looked beyond them where he could see, curled about her clothes, the unclothed body of the princess.

Max looked at himself. He still had evidence of his arousal. He dressed and walked to the eating area. He made a cup of energy drink. He sighed, remembering there would come a time when this drink be exhausted. He was sitting, watching the sleep platform. One woman was the bound lover of a man he hated and probably feared. The other was a whore who had been sold to half the galaxy. The third was a woman who had been destined to be part of a barbaric ritual of human sacrifice. Who was he? A prince who wanted to disobey the orders of his father and king. Right now, Max was a man trying to keep three other people alive. Max pulled an emergency computer out of the cabinet of the shelter. He decided to list the sources of materials they had at their disposal and, then, to list those they needed. He was so intense on his thoughts that he jumped when he felt strong fingers on his shoulders. It was the diva, totally naked. Maria turned Max to face her. She straddled his lap. She began to kiss him as she messaged his neck. Max felt his hands, almost without his control, begin to stroke her bare back. Her breasts were pressing against his chest and her lips were playing with his face. First, she nipped at his lips. Then, she caressed his nose and cheeks. Max felt her tongue tracing the outlines of his face. He moved his hands up her back until he was supporting her head. He massaged her neck muscles and felt her back arch. Moving his hands to her waist, he pulled her to him. She put her hands against his chest, resisting and causing further arching of her back. Max cupped her buttocks in his hands and stood up. She locked her legs around his waist as he carried her to the platform. They lay down. Max stood up and dropped his pants and shorts. He took the diva as she smiled. Then again, she arched her back as she sighed. They were locked like that for several minutes. Max stroked her and she bent to his chest, kissing him. They fell back asleep. The diva lay with her arms and legs locked around Max’s half clothed body.

Max awoke again. Tess was sitting up, still naked, looking at him and the diva. He looked past Tess at the princess. She was sitting up on the platform. She had clothed the upper part of her body, but she only had on her panties for the bottom. Her eyes were big and round. She was staring at both Max and Maria. Tess yawned, bored at what she saw. She wasn’t taking part in it, so she had little interest. Elizabeth, though, was locked in fascination. Sensing the stirring of Max, Maria awoke. She sat up and smiled at every one. Elizabeth ducked her head in embarrassment, but Tess stuck her tongue out at Maria.

Tess stood up. She began to gyrate to music in her head. Her training allowed her to be a contortionist of sorts, but whatever you called it, she was enticing. At first, Max felt indifferent. His rational mind realized that these were the same movements Tess had used on so many of her clients or masters; however you wanted to look at it. Max felt that her movements, no matter how arousing, were just practiced drama for a crowd. Max, though, was an amateur. True, Tess had used these same enticing antics on men of many worlds, but she, also, had perfected to illusion that they were just for one, the person of her present interest. Max’s rational mind finally gave way to his baser instincts. No matter how many she had shown her abilities to, now, Max was the only one in her sights. His mind slowly resolved that everything she was doing was created just for him. He became isolated within her universe and there was no one else and had been no one else. Max stood and shed his shirt. Now, he was standing naked before Tess.

Tess raised her right leg parallel to her body so that her heel was resting on Max’s shoulder. She hooked her bare heel on Max’s shoulder like a trapeze artist. Taking his left arm in her right hand, she bent her torso so that her hair was touching the ground. Holding onto his arm, she swung her left leg to his other shoulder. Now hanging from Max upside down like he was the swing, gripping his neck and shoulder with her heels and his arms with her hands, she did a very slow back flip. She was bringing her head up, brushing Max’s entire body with her face and hair, brushing his legs, his groin and, finally, his chest to face him. Then, she swung her arms around his neck to embrace him with kisses. She pushed Max back onto the platform. He sat down by necessity and she continued to push him back further. Max felt his head land in Maria’s lap. In this position, Tess crawled onto him. Max was not really sure what had happened. He knew that she was making love, but his mind was so confused that it felt like it was happening in a dream. When she was through, Tess rolled off of Max and lay beside him. Max lay with his head in Maria’s bare lap and the body of Tess beside him. Max, as mentioned before, had been a shy young man. His father, well renowned for his sexual prowess, had been disappointed in Max. Max was a sword the king could trust, but pride of his son in the bedroom was not one of the stories the king could brag about. Max thought, the old man would look like an amateur himself, if he was to have witnessed the antics of his son, Max, this morning.

Maria
She opened her eyes. The prince was no longer beside her. She looked over at the table and he was there, dressed and working on a list, she supposed, dedicated to their survival. She had heard Rath talk about the boy who, someday, would be king. He had laughed at the very thought. Rath thought only of power and cruelty. Maria remembered how he had laughed when the “Pup,” as he called him, had drawn his fighting knife. Rath knew better than to get into a deadly fight with the son of the king. Rath respected the present king, Zan. Zan had fought beside Rath in many battles. Zan and Rath had raided many brothels and wasted many women in their drunken brawls. Max was not like the king. True, Max was a fighter. He did not have fear, but he did not have the macho character that Rath stubbornly clung to, that would make him a man in Rath’s eyes.

Maria had endured the ministrations of Rath because he owned her. She had no recourse. When he was satiated, he sent her out on tours to sing, until he again, built up desire for her presence. Maria feared Rath. She did not respect him or in any way love him. In Max, she saw an almost innocence that begged to be teased and tenderly treated. Watching him sitting at the table, Maria couldn’t resist approaching him and, thus, lead him to indulge himself in her favors.

Tess
Tess felt the movement on the sleeping platform. She saw Maria under Max and to herself she thought, “Well, the diva is the first to approach him but I will give him the most lasting memories. Tess did not move or give any indication she was awake. When Maria and Max ceased movement and settled into rhythmic sleep, Tess just lay there thinking. She sat up. The princess was dressing. The princess kept to her corner and Tess easily dismissed Elizabeth in her mind. Tess sat cross-legged, watching Max and Maria lock in intertwining embrace. Tess saw the eyes of Max flutter. He sat up and looked around. His movements woke Maria. The diva also sat up. Tess got off the platform. She knew how to control the thoughts of a man. Her dance was not a dance of rhythm, but rather, a display of her body as an offering. In many ways, Tess was like Elizabeth offering her body a sacrifice. Tess had no intention of letting the sacrifice go too far. She only offered as much as was necessary to hold the control of a man. Tess had been well schooled in the art of making a man think he was the only one and that there had never been any one else. When dancing, Tess was a perpetual virgin. Men did not take her to compare their experiences with other men, but rather to believe in the irrational parts of their minds, that she existed for them alone. Her contortion was designed to erase a man‘s mind of anything else. As her hair and face brushed against his body, she felt the arousal that she had made. No one else could control a man like Tess did. She pushed Max so that he would be under her. The fact that his head rested in Maria’s lap did not concern her in the least. Tess had no jealously. She knew that, at the moment, Max had no thoughts other than of her.

Elizabeth
Elizabeth was totally unnerved at the situation since the crash. She had been schooled to believe that her death would bring happiness and prosperity to those taking it. That Elizabeth had been sold to an unknown race so they could placate unknown deities had been carefully hidden from Elizabeth’s thoughts. She had only been schooled that her life had value only upon her death. This death was the purpose she lived for and she was never allowed to think beyond that moment. She was carefully shielded from any thought about the pain or physical aspects of this death. She had been taught that because her body was a sacrifice, it must be concealed from view until that the final event when her glory would be shown to the populous and it would be taken with her death to pay divine debts. Elizabeth had been told that there were ways a man used a woman, but she was to avoid any contact or knowledge of this until the day of her sacrifice when she would receive that which would make her a woman. There had been a few times when she saw women with children. Somewhere in her heart, thoughts had brewed that included something else. Her education had been intense. Her innocence was what her large price had guaranteed. Even when she would be finally delivered, nothing about the event would be disclosed until it happened.

Here she was, with all probability, not going to make her deadline. She had been exposed in her nakedness to both the women and to the prince. She had seen the acts of sex and love-making. Her eyes were wide and, within her, feelings were stirring that she did not understand. When she saw Tess dancing before Max, she felt a hunger within herself then, a guilt fighting to reinsert her training. As she saw Tess and the prince in the act of sex, she covered her eyes because the hunger had become so strong. When she finally had enough courage to again look, Maria was stepping out of the shower and Tess was entering. Elizabeth couldn’t help herself. She crawled over and touched the bare back of Max. He looked at her. Elizabeth became aware that she was not fully dressed. She blushed, but did not move. Max’s eyes appraised her half-clad body. Elizabeth looked down and realized her panties, partially and no more concealed her sex, than did the translucent walls of the shower. Her eyes traveled the length of his body. They rested on his manhood. For several seconds, she yearned to take this with the abandon that she had seen in the other women. Max smiled and Elizabeth quickly withdrew picking up her slacks to cover herself from his view. When he turned around, she quickly pulled on her slacks and slid off the platform. When Tess got out of the shower, Max stood and walked over to it. He could feel the eyes of Elizabeth as she followed his every move. The eyes seemed to memorize every move, of every part of his body.

flyawayraven I am back.

Chapter 3

Soon, the alarms went off. The temperature had risen high enough to work outside. Max handed Tess and Elizabeth a list of what needed to be done. Clothing, food, power packs and any tools that might be useful were on it. They were to work until the heat over took them. Then, they were to retire to the shelter and wait until the twilight again returned the temperature to bearable levels before completing their task.

Max and Maria were to undertake a fairly dangerous mission. Max had chosen Maria because he felt she had the most endurance. Being a singer, she had good lungs. She, also, seemed to have good muscle tone, at least as far as he could tell from last night. Max dreaded this adventure because he felt that if something happened to him, the women would have a difficult time of surviving. Max needed to reconnoiter the area. First, he needed to see what resources could be counted on when their supplies ran out. He wanted to see if he could relocate the shelter, if possible. This last was still way back in the formative stages of his mind, but he was starting to fear rescue almost as much as he did being stranded. Max could go it alone, but if something happened to him, he would have no recourse for any help. This way, Max would shield Maria from taking as many chances as he could. She could summon help or, at least, report to the others if an accident befell Max.

Tess and Elizabeth labored, piling material into piles of clothing, food-stuffs and small power packs. They began to assemble what they thought of as tools. It wasn’t as if either woman really had any experience with what tools would look like. They labored in silence. This bothered Tess, but if the princess wanted to remain within her little shell, she guessed that was her privilege. Tess preferred arguing with Maria or taunting Max. She had several reservations about the princess. When the heat became unbearable, they both retired to the shelter. Tess showered first. Elizabeth was still shy about this activity. She had seen the translucence of the shower and realized that all present were viewing her body as she undertook this cleansing. Tess came out of the shower and retrieved her clothes, now clean and pressed. Elizabeth entered the shower and, with terrible feelings of self-consciousness, she completed her ablutions. Elizabeth got out of the shower and quickly retrieved her clothes. She turned to see Tess, still flushed from being outside. Without Max to monitor them, they had probably stayed too long in the heat. Tess had only put on her panties and was sitting at the table fixing her meal.

Elizabeth sat down with Tess. “You and Maria gave yourselves completely over to Max. How did it feel and how do you manage to do that?” was Elizabeth’s questions.

“It feels complete. That is the purpose of a woman. A woman controls a man by making him desire her. That is the way she finds power. How can we do it? I might rather ask how you can be prepared to give your life as a sacrifice to a race who wants to please their gods, but are unwilling to use their own people?”

“My purpose, the reason I was born, was to do this. My training and conditioning was all to this cause. My blood would bless the land and the lives of the people would profit from this,” Elizabeth recited.

“Your blood! Do you have any idea of how they were going to get this blood? Do you have any concept of pain?” Tess inquired. “Do you know what rape is?”

Elizabeth sadly shook her head, “I was told that they would inform me when the time came. I was never allowed to feel pain. Any unpleasant sensation to my body was immediately medicated. Truly, I know little of pain. That is one of the things I do not understand about you and Maria the other night. Several things you did, appeared that they would involve pain. What do mean about rape?”

“The pain of making love is pleasurable. It is a sensation that assures us we are alive. Those bastards who raised you did not want you to know pain because when they sacrificed you, they wanted you to be totally in panic so the sacrifice would be more satisfying to them. They were going to cut you up with sharp knives and collect your blood. Rape means to be taken sexually in a forceful and hurtful manner. They did not want you to know about men and women because they wanted to rape you to increase your panic. You, were raised to be brutally destroyed. The shipwreck kept me from being sold to yet another man who would try to possess my body. It kept Maria from yet another time of mauling by the man, Rath, who owns her. Our darling prince was saved from confronting an unwilling marriage to satisfy that fat father-king he has. But you, princess, you were saved from a horrible death,” Tess concluded.

Tess looked at Elizabeth. Elizabeth was totally pale. Tess had brought up questions that had been suppressed in Elizabeth. Tess had questioned values that had been ingrained within Elizabeth’s soul. Now, fear was taking over and Elizabeth was uncontrollably shaking. For most of her life, Tess had not given into the luxury of sympathy for anyone. Tess had, early in her life, learned she had too much on her plate just trying to hold herself together, to under take the responsibility for the feelings of anyone else. Tess had been used by a man from that race, who had purchased Elizabeth. Tess had detested him and she was thankful that her indenture to him had not been long. He had talked with enthusiasm about the sacrifices. He had described, in detail, each step in the ceremony. Tess thought then, that he must be at the bottom of the entire evolutionarily tree in humanoids. Now, Tess decided, those who supplied the women for this sacrifice must be in this place. Tess held Elizabeth as she shook. She walked her over to the sleep platform. They lay down together, Elizabeth still in her arms. Finally, the steady breathing showed that Elizabeth had fallen into an exhausted sleep.

Tess got up and began to go through the supplies. She was sure, somewhere, there must be some medicinal alcohol. If there was a time for medication, Tess felt that listening to Elizabeth’s story was it.

Max and Maria had set out early. Max carried a portable shelter on his back. It would allow them to withstand the heat of the day or, if something happened, the chill of the night. Max intended to be out during the early morning, camp during the heat period and, he intended to return during the twilight of the evening. Maria wore heavy-duty shorts, a shirt and jacket. She had on some walking shoes she had found in the wreckage. They found the land to be mostly rolling hills. Max checked rock outcrops and determined that they were mostly limestone. There were no distinctive features on the horizon. The planet didn’t seem to have much in the way of animal life. Max was constantly studying to see if he could find any signs of a principal predator. There were no signs of anything that might be considered a danger to their survival, but there were no signs of a major food source either. They took food samples to be tested later. They found good signs of water such as small springs and several creeks. They took samples of each to test. Max kept a lookout at the sky. So far, each day had been clear, but he was sure there would be some sort of storms before too long. They needed a protein source. There was none to be found. Max needed to refigure their supplies. With what he hoped the women would find, he figured that there would be at least a year supplies for four people. Max had placed beacons along the way so they could retrace their way home when they were ready.

The day was getting warm. Max found a sheltered location and began to set up the emergency shelter. The shelter was about four feet high and only ten feet long. It was barely four feet wide, so they were not going to be in the lap of comfort. Max could hear the power packs whine as they began to condition the inside of the shelter. Maria took off her clothes and, in only her panties, she crawled in. Max, likewise, stripped down to his boxers. He pushed their clothes to the rear of the shelter and dragged Maria’s pack into the shelter. They prepared a meal. They had eaten energy snacks as they traveled, but it had been over eight hours since they had eaten a full meal. There were no sanitary facilities inside the emergency shelter. They would have to go back outside for that. Max had a reflective cloak that they could take turns wearing if they had to exit for necessities. It was all right for short periods of time, but they couldn’t endure a long exposure with only the cloak.

After dinner, Max and Maria sat facing each other. She mused, “What is going to happen when we are rescued?”

Max looked at her, “I almost wish there was a way we would not be found. None of us really wants to go back to the destination we were headed for before the crash.”

Maria smiled, “Yeah, it is too bad. You will have face your father. I will have to face Lord Rath, Tess will be shipped to another man to use her for a time. What do you think will happen to the princess?”

My father is mostly noise. He depends upon me a lot more than I do him. Rath will be furious when he finds out I was with you,” Max had to laugh thinking about this. “The owners of Tess are going to try to make me pay for the time she spends with us. But, I do not know what will happen to the princess. The planet she was being transported to is one of the most barbaric planets in the universe. They have a bloody god and they, habitually, purchase slaves for sacrifice. Elizabeth is just a more expensive slave for a special occasion.”

“Maria smiled, “Maybe, I shouldn’t have slept with you last night if it is going to cause trouble with Lord Rath.”

Max smiled back, “Do you think you would have been able to convince Lord Rath that you spent a year with a man, and did not sleep with him? Especially a man who he so despises.”
Maria shrugged, “Probably not, and if we are to make him that mad, we would do better to be guilty of the fact than face him angry, in our innocence.”

With this, Max nodded in agreement, “Besides, I am going to have face Lord Rath and subdue him or kill him, if I am to be king. He was so close to my father. He just thinks he is free of any restraint.”

Max and Maria had been up now for over 12 hours. They had been up making love last night, so they were ready to rest. Max lay down and the half-naked Maria lay beside him. Soon their steady breathing told that they were both asleep.

Max felt a tug at his shorts. His eyes opened to the playful face of Maria. She smiled, “I just wanted to look at you as you slept. Sorry if I woke you too soon. Max groaned and stretched. Then, with one quick movement, he grabbed the waist band of Maria’s panties and pulled them down. Maria kicked them off. She had already unbuttoned his shorts and it was only a few deft movements until she had pulled them down around his thighs. Max grabbed Maria and pulled her quickly over on top of himself. To catch her balance, Maria spread her legs automatically. Max, holding her by her shoulders, pulled her hard down upon his erection. They both wiggled and gyrated until they were able to accommodate each other. Then, they settled down to just plain old country loving. Max turned on his side. Now, Maria was beside him and they, with their arms intertwined, soon fell asleep again.

The alarm went off and Tess awoke. She had a whopper hangover. She hadn’t drank that much, but the alcohol was medicinal and rated at ninety percent. She looked at the princess. Elizabeth was awake, but she was still trembling. Tess went to her and put her arms around her. Elizabeth did sit up and hold on to Tess. “They were really going to do all of those horrible things to me, weren’t they?” she sobbed.

Tess took a deep breath, “Yes, princess, but now you can’t be sacrificed. All of their machinations have been revealed. There is one more thing you need to do to make sure they don’t want you.” Elizabeth looked up at Tess and Tess whispered in her ear. As Elizabeth listened to Tess, her eyes got wide. At first, she shook her head. Her conditioning was so strong. Tess was insistent, so Elizabeth hung her head. Finally, she acquiesced that it must be done.

Elizabeth and Tess finished a meal. Then, after checking the gauges, they went outside to complete their work. It was getting late when they were hailed. The women looked up and saw Max and Maria returning. Max surveyed the work the women had done. He nodded his head, satisfied. He wanted to find out the resources they had as soon as possible. It was getting cold, so the four castaways retired into the shelter.

Chapter 4

Maria took her first turn at the shower. She got out, retrieved her clothes and, then, just wearing her panties, she sat down at the table. Tess was next and she, likewise, finished and retrieved the clothes from the cleaner and sat at the table, wearing just her panties. The third person was the princess. She followed the others. When she finished, she retrieved her clothes, but she just walked to the bed and sat down naked, all the time just looking at Max. Max shrugged as he placed his clothes in the cleaner cubical. He stepped into the shower. As he was retrieving his clothes after showering, Maria took him by the arm and led him to the princess. The princess was trembling as she stood before Max. As she had been told, she put her arms around him and sought his lips with her own. She had been worried that she wouldn’t know what to do, but the other women told her just to find his lips and he would know enough for the both of them. Max frowned at first and Elizabeth, because of this frown, was terrified. What had she done wrong? Her schooling had been that she would be shown what was expected of her on the day of her sacrifice. Tess had told her that the priest had intended to rape her, but she knew that Max wouldn’t do anything like that. So she must be doing something that was confusing him, or maybe, he didn’t want her.

No, Max, was just caught by surprise. He started kissing her. This was a new sensation for Elizabeth. Tess had told her that no matter what happened, she was just to allow Max total freedom. She told Elizabeth that any pain involved would be short lived and would be seen later as pain of joy.

Max picked up the princess and carried her to the middle of the platform. He placed her there and knelt beside her. All the time, he was studying her eyes. Max was looking for some sort of conformation that he was doing what she wanted. Max traced her body with his hands. He placed kisses upon her body and she squirmed. Max hoped the squirming was for pleasure. Max gently divided her legs. She was quivering even more. Max crawled between these satin legs and proceed to slowly enter the princess. She jumped but then, she relaxed. Max stroked her over and over. She whimpered, but she kept hold of him. He filled her mouth with kisses and they continued until Max was exhausted. Elizabeth was content to just lay in his arms. He looked at the other women and saw they were calmly serving dinner. Max returned to the shower and after a quick rinse, he held out his hand to the princess. Elizabeth stiffly stood up and also entered the shower. As soon as she was out, she saw that Max was in his shorts. He and the other two women were waiting on her for supper. Elizabeth, also put on just her panties. She was self-conscious, but she was, now, one of the crew.

After supper, the four castaways lay on the sleeping platform in their half-dressed condition. They awakened after about eight hours. Max looked outside at the huge moon. He saw clouds on the horizon. He had no idea what this meant. He was hoping that they would have at least the morning to finish salvage of the shipwreck.

Max was sitting at the table figuring from his list of materials. Tess came up to him and put her arms around his neck. She began to kiss him. There were no gymnastics to distract him this time. Max turned and Tess came around to face him. Max was surprised because there was nothing in Tess except the appearance of a willing woman. Max placed his hands on her back. Because of her size, it was almost as if he was embracing a child. Max looked into her eyes. No, there was no child here, there was no whore either. This was a Tess, who even she, had forgotten existed. This was a Tess, who had no ulterior motive. Max looked over at the platform. The other two women were sleeping peacefully. Tess sat in his lap. The feel of her naked legs was stimulating to Max. His mind began to run to fantasies. Then, she bent to kiss him and he could feel her breasts flatten against his chest. Max could feel her heart beating faster than he would have thought normal. It was beating so strongly that it affected his own. Holding Tess, Max could feel his own heart matching hers. Max lifted Tess in his arms. He carried her to the platform and gently, so as not to disturb the other women, he placed her on her back. Max carefully crawled over Tess. He was laying with his back to the women. Max put his fingers in the band of her panties and slowly pulled them down. Max could feel the soft flesh of her stomach. He also felt the hard muscles underneath her skin, muscles that had developed from continued exercise. Max saw that the breasts of Tess were standing out with excitement. He slowly spread her legs and entered her.

Tess
Tess awoke. She lay still. She could hear the rhythmic breathing of the other women. She looked across Maria to the place where Max habitually slept. He was gone. Tess focused her sleep-laden eyes and there he was sitting at the table worrying over his lists. Max did that so much. Tess did not have the capacity to worry like this about anything. In her life, she had almost no control so any worry would be for naught. The only control Tess had ever been able to wrench from others was the power of her sex. She used this power unabashedly. It was now second nature to her. Whenever she was presented to new situations, Tess could only think about how seduction would improve her situation. When she had danced before Max earlier, she was trying to convince both herself and Maria that she had just as much power over Max as any other woman. Now, there was another hunger in Tess. Max, from the first, had treated her as an equal. She, now, thought he wasn’t a prize to be won, but a personage to be shared. Tess quietly stood up and was careful not to awaken the others. She stepped off the platform and went to Max.

Max and Tess made love carefully and slowly. They made as little movement as possible to preserve the semblance of privacy or, at least, the pretension of such. When they were exhausted from the strain of their careful ministrations to each other, Max rolled off and they lay facing each other. Max felt gentle fingers probing against his back and neck. He turned his head and looked into the smiling face of Maria. He felt gentle caresses along the curve of his hips. He looked further and saw the still wide-eyed face of the princess, who was testing the new sensations she was feeling. Maria moved to cradle his head in her naked lap and he felt the princess crawl close against his back. With Tess in his arms and the other two in such close proximity, Max relaxed. Right now, rescue was the least thought he had.

They arose. The walls of the shelter were shuddering. Max could hear a wind outside. It was not strong, but it was more than they had felt before. Quickly dressing, Max organized everyone into the job of storing the salvaged materials and placing the anchors, securely, for the shelter. By the time they had completed their assignments and according to Max’s list, they had prepared the shelter as best they could, the wind was downright unpleasant. Max sealed the doors and they sat down to live out the storm. The shelter had deep anchors. The outer skin was a spun metal-carbon composite. It could take a rifle bullet without fear of penetration. The fact that the rounded walls gave, made it withstand tremendous forces. This also made a frightening sensation inside.

The wind howled. As it passed over the outer skin, it set up vibrations that made the whole shelter sing. Soon, the occupants settled to the realization that their shelter would be noisy, but probably safe. The walls glowed as the sun outside became hidden and the power packs took over. Max continually checked the gauges to monitor the condition of the power packs. They could hear the sound of blown rain beating against the skin of the shelter. This was added to the other noises of the storm. There were electrical displays seen against the semi-opaque walls. The noise of thunder was also heard in the distance. Max was only a little worried about lightning strikes. The metallic-carbon walls were as near an insulator as could be possibly made. The four people sitting on the sleep platform were talking to pass the time. Maria turned to Max. “When we are rescued, what is to happen?” she had addressed him because, in the event of rescue, he was the only one who had any chance of making binding decisions.

Max shook his head, “I do not really know. I am more and more thinking I should take the reins of power from my father. He is old and the kingdom deserves a younger and more visionary leader. I will have to face the wrath of Rath.” With these two homonyms Maria and Tess laughed. The humor was too subtle for the sheltered mind of the princess. Max smiled at the attempt at a joke. “I will have to kill or subdue the general. He is a mighty warrior and the kingdom needs him. So, I hope I can accommodate him. I do not know what will be required of you, Maria. I think I can guarantee your personal safety, but even that may be in question. Tess will be in contention that I owe her owners for the use of being with her this year. They will demand damages and compensation for her loss of revenue. The princess will be in limbo. She is no longer marketable, as a sacrificial virgin as I well know you, Tess, have orchestrated. Even if we had not made love, the fact that she had been exposed to reality would have spoiled her value. I have thought about us staying and just living out our lives like we are doing now. There are two problems with this. We are running out of resources. Unless we find an unlimited supply, natural on this planet, we are not going to survive long term. If we did survive, and produced progeny, they would be faced with a limited gene pool. It would be very rare if they survived very many generations. If they did, they might be crippled, so we have just put off our problem to be faced by others.

All four were somber at these words. Max had struggled with these ideas since they had been stranded. He was in no hurry to return but he didn’t see any alternative he could embrace with good conscience and honor. As the wind, rain and thunder created a backdrop of noise, the four people held together only by circumstance drifted off to sleep. Max, held the naked body of the princess who no longer was thinking of herself as a sacrifice to others, in his arms. This time she had approached love with a both a selfish and a generous measure. Selfish because she was learning the pleasure of being loved and generous, as she did not want to be a sacrifice, but she did want to be a fountain of pleasure to be enjoyed.

The storm subsided. There were a few hours left in the day when the castaways could still work. The land outside was steamy, but the breeze was cool. Fog was rising out of the warm, but damp, earth. There were tubers rising out of the ground taking advantage of the damp soil. Maria and Tess immediately began to harvest as many of the tubers as they could. They would be tested and, if possible, used to bolster the food supply. The Princess called out, “Prince Max, over here.”

The all rushed to the small hill to see what was the cause of her alarm. Just over the slight hill, there were many forms undulating as they moved across the grass. That they were eating the grass was obvious. Max took out one of his weapons of war, a pike on a synthetic shaft. He advanced to the creature and it sensed his approach. Max pinned the creature into the soil. The creature was mute, but it had a nervous system that was evident from its writhing. Max had secured it well and it didn’t seem to be able to get away. The other creatures in their way seemed to sense its discomfort and were retreating a respectable distance. Max grabbed at the creature and he screamed. The pain was intense. His body was burning. The three women quickly removed him back into the shelter. Max was groaning as he felt the pain shooting through his body. Max was trying to get control of his senses. He needed help soon or his body was going to shut down. “The medical box, There is … spray. You are going …have to rid me of these clothes. I am burning up.”

The three women were in tears. For many reasons and one of them was the growing passion they were developing for him. The other was that they needed Max’s knowledge and leadership. Nothing in their lives had prepared them for survival. They quickly stripped Max of his clothes. They had to do this carefully because the clothes were covered in foam. The least touch would bring the same pain as he was enduring. The women placed his naked body on a rubber sheet from the storage locker. The spray helped, but Max was still in great pain. His skin was blistered and burned. In the medical box, they found ointments that they rubbed over his body. That soothed his pain to the point where he could sleep. They escaped this time, but many events of this kind would deplete their much-needed supplies. That night, Max was placed in the center of the mat surrounded by the three women.

The next morning when they could exit the shelter Max was better, but he was not fit to do much work. The women helped him to return to the site where he had pinned the slug like creature. Using protection and care, Maria carved a sample of the creature. The daytime sun was slowly killing it. Little was accomplished that morning. The testing later in the day indicaed the creature contained protein which the castaways could use. It also contained huge amounts of acid material and that is what it used to hurt Max. As soon as he could, he and Maria were going to have to go on another sortie to seek resources. They needed a source of a caustic. Maybe, the limestone could supply this. It was three circuits of the sun before Max was fit to travel. With the extended days, this was a large amount of time. Max instructed the women in testing procedures. Tess proved to have a ready eye in using the microscope to detect microbes. She started studies of cultures looking for anything that might cross over to humans. Elizabeth was soon learning to use the chemistry reagents to discover the chemical make up of the samples. Maria became Max’s assistant. She undertook any and everything he was doing to help them to survive. Max was trying to train her so if he was incapacitated, she could lead the women until rescue.

Using the same procedure as before, Max and Maria left early. Tess and Elizabeth remained to carry on their research looking for food. Maria was getting stronger all the time. Max, in fact, was still weak from his bout with the slug. It was Maria who sometimes had to help him over obstacles. They camped beside one of the large outcrops of limestone. The sun was warming so Max and Maria began to set up their shelter. They were going to remain here for two complete sun rotations. The air conditioners began to scream as the sun warmed and activated the solar cells.

Max and Maria were resting during the heat period. They had stripped down to their underwear before crawling into the shelter. The small enclosure made much movement difficult. “Max, why does Rath hate you so much?” Maria asked.

“I am not sure it is hate. Rather, it is distain. Rath and my father have been friends and helpmates for years. Rath has had many children, but he does not care about them. He leaves that to the women who birthed them. Zan on the other hand, as king, must support an heir and train that heir to take over the kingdom. Rath resents the time Zan has given to me. Rath thinks I am weak because I respect my mother and I do not go on the drinking, whoring binges he and Zan do,” Max explained. “How do you give your self to Rath? You travel all over the universe, but you always come back to him when he calls.”

Maria looked at Max. “He owns me, Max. I come when he calls because I have no where else, to go. No one wants to brace lord Rath and the anger he would have if they gave me shelter.” Maria giggled. Until you did, Max. How do you think Lord Rath will take you having me for such a long time?” Maria turned over on her back and looked up as Max. “Rath is not that bad to me. As long as I please him, he tolerates the other things I want to do. I get to sing and travel. He could be worse. I have avoided intimate affairs and, thus, have not made him jealous, until now,” Maria said with a twinkle in her eye.

She reached up to encircle Max’s neck with her arms. Then, he collapsed beside her. They would have between four and six hours until the outside cooled enough for them to exit the shelter again. Max began to kiss her lips and then proceeded down her chest. He freed her breasts and his face could feel the pulsing life within her. They slowly made love. Then, they simply went to sleep inside the shelter.

Max awoke. His face was buried deep in Maria’s hair. He could hear the alarm going off and he had to shake Maria to bring her back to life. She smiled as she stretched. “I had the most beautiful dream. I thought that I did not have to go to anyone any more. I could choose whomever I wanted and there would be no punishments again, ever,” she explained.

They ate and, then, went out into the field. The limestone was soft in many places. It might be a location to mine a mineral that could yield a caustic material that could be used to rid the slugs of their acid. They would need a burning material and that would be the next thing to search for. Max and Maria spent the rest of the afternoon looking for a source of fuel.

After eating, Max and Maria sat within the shelter. Through one of the clear ports, they watched the gigantic moon rise. Max sat on the sleeping mat with Maria sitting between his legs. She leaned back against his chest and, for a time, they just watched as the almost sun like object rose. It gave the landscape an eerie light. They sat with Maria leaning against Max as he fondled her breasts. The massive sphere finally rose to its full brilliance. Maria rolled over burying her face in his chest. Max leaned back and soon they were both asleep. Max’s dreams were of Maria laying on top of him as he stroked her hair and bare back. Soon they both awoke in the middle of the extraordinarily long night. They got up and tested the samples they had selected. They did find a plant that burned with a very hot flame. It would be perfect for burning the limestone.

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Stories by ken_r
Isabel takes place in the middle of the third season. I have long wanted to study Isabel not as a supporting character but isabel the girl herself. the is one of the first of my stories to do that.
The Young Vampire is a light hearted story about a vampire. Max becomes the health manager of the women he feeds upon. He meets the woman that could possibly be his Mate into eternity but his reluctance at commitment means he may loose her forever.

Flyawayraven the three women are learning they are not that much different.

Chapter 5

During the first wake period after Max and Maria were gone, Tess and Elizabeth spent their time searching for samples. They were also looking for evidence of where the slugs had gone. There were tracks of slime, but the beast themselves were no where to be seen. As the sun climbed, Tess signaled for Elizabeth to join her in heading back to the shelter. They both stripped and showered. Elizabeth, like a trooper, joined Tess sitting at the table in just her panties. Elizabeth looked at Tess, “How many men have you made love to?

This was an abrupt question and Tess thought for a minute before she attempted an answer. “Maybe, one.”

This was way different from what Elizabeth was expecting. “I do not understand. Tess, how can you say only one, maybe?”

“Because the other day with the shy prince may have been the only time I ever did. I have had sex with hundreds of men over the time since I was sitting in the cubicle waiting for someone to put a coin in the slot. When I went to Max that night without any thought of seduction, it might have been the only time I did it from love,” the dancer answered.

Elizabeth looked at her, “When I went to him, I had all sorts of feelings, as he touched me and whispered things to me, finally, when he took me to himself. How can you not feel those things? Were they not love?”

“I was always told to just go. Make myself available. I would be a vessal for someone else’s feelings. Feeling anything myself would just complicate things. The higher and quicker arousal I caused in men would just speed up my performance and enhance my value,” Tess explained. Elizabeth just shook her head in disbelief . “But what about you, Princess? You were going to give your life and, also, suffer untold pain just to serve a bloody god you would not even believe in. You were to be sold to suffer pain for public enjoyment,” Tess returned.

“We were never allowed to think that. We were always filled with the honor our life was bringing to a people. We were taught to look forward to the disclosure of our bodies and the opening of the, hitherto, forbidden knowledge of the ways of men and women. It was to be a joyous occasion that we were preparing to face. It was all a lie!” Elizabeth sadly said. The two women lay on the platform and slept fitfully through the long mid-day.

When the alarm went off, the temperature had lowered to the point where Tess and Elizabeth could work outside. They did not expect Max and Maria back until at least four more sleep cycles. They checked on the trapped slug. It was dead and putrefying. Tess pulled the pike up and, carefully without touching the tip or the end of the shaft, she carried it home. The smell from the dead animal assured that its flesh was no longer palatable. There were still several new tubers so the women gathered as many different species as they could. They photographed them and described them. Then, they prepared them for analysis. They would complete the analysis during the dark after the first sleep period. It was fortunate that the emergency kits had survived. The analysis methods they contained were very well explained.

That evening before the sleep period, the women were working on the samples taken that day and talking. “I think it would be wonderful having men touch me,” Elizabeth said. “All of my life I had to avoid unnecessary contact. To be free to have a man look at me as if I was valuable and take me because I was available, not some freak that must be protected at all costs, would be a joy.”

Tess took a deep breath, “I was but twelve when they began to teach me special dances. At that time, I had no idea of why I was learning them. They were dances to arouse, tantalize and control men. I could dance around a sitting man and never touch him. All he would feel was the wind as I moved my body by him. If I was clumsy or stumbled so that I actually touched him, my teacher had an electronic whip. If I danced where he could not feel the wind of my passing, he would also use the whip. It was after hours of practice that he would then take me in sex and use all the arousal I had built up in him. No, Princess, do not confuse sex with love. With none of the men to whom I was given did I make love. I only aroused them because that is what I was trained for and paid for. It was a sober Elizabeth who went to sleep during the first sleep period. The two women, both who were trained to refrain from contact and to save themselves for something special. One who did this often and one who would have only done this once.

The alarm went off. The temperature had risen enough that Max and Maria could finish their survey. They mined enough of the limestone so that next time they would be able to process some of it. They also dug enough of the fuel brush so they could immediately start the fires as soon as they returned. Because they didn’t have the luxury of the shower, Max and Maria quit earlier than they would have back at the main shelter. They were both hot, sweaty and smelly. They had been at hard labor for almost two complete cycles. Before they went to the small enclosure, Maria wrapped her self around Max and, in the growing heat, they expressed their passions until it was too hot to remain. When they crawled inside, the coolness of the air conditioning struck their bodies. Soon, their bodies intertwined they fell fast asleep. As soon as the alarm sounded, they packed samples and started for home leaving the camp so it could be used shortly in a return venture. By the time they got there, they were completely fatigued.

Tess and Elizabeth had secured many samples. They had tested and marked many of them for usable food content. They had also marked those with toxins and those that were completely unusable.

When they retuned, it was Maria first with Max a close second into the showers. By the time Tess and Elizabeth were through, Max and Maria were passed out.

Max was dreaming. He was in a war and he was trapped. He had been imprisoned and was slowly suffocating in a room. There was no air. Try as he might there just wouldn’t be relief. He could feel himself drowning in something. There was a crawling sensation over his body. The blisters he had suffered still made his skin sore. When he and Maria had made love while out on their expedition, the passion had over come the pain. Now asleep, anything touching him caused him to return to pain. He was dreaming that Rath had come into his place of imprisonment. He was laughing at Max saying over and over, “How dare you take the property of Rath! How dare a pup lay with the woman who warms the feet of a soldier. I won’t kill you, but I will make sure you suffer at the hands of some other.”

Max awoke. He was surrounded by the three sleeping women. It had been their hands that were touching him. None knowing how much pain they were causing. Tess, the whore, was snuggled up in front of him. Her lips pressed against his chest. Elizabeth was behind him, her arm wrapped around him and cradling his head was Maria, the singer. Awake, the soldier in Max was able to control his pain. His emotions arose to the point that the pain was becoming pleasure. His arousal was causing another sort of pain, which he was attempting to control. Max carefully extracted himself from the women. He had slept enough and he wanted to see some of the results of their studies.

Tess had by series catalogued many microbes that would have nothing to do with a human system. She had found a couple that they were going to have to watch for and she had started the search for antibiotics to control them. Elizabeth had analyzed many tubers and had noted which had starches that the human system could use. She also had listed several that had usable starches, but first, they would have to remove certain impurities by some processing method. As Max sat studying the notes, he felt hot, sweetly scented breath against his neck. He felt the small hands that were becoming roughened by the labor they were doing caress against his shoulders. As Max sat at the table, he knew that Tess was just behind him tantalizing him with her abilities.

The first time Max had sex with Tess, he knew in his intellectual mind that she was just asserting herself as being in control. She had seen him take Maria and she was going to assure everyone that she, Tess, was still the master at sex. In his present conscious level, Max had been subjected to all of Tess’s skills and she had many. He, at that time, had felt that she was only for him. Later, he knew that was her speciality. That was what she was trained to do. The second time, he just wasn’t sure. Tess had come to him without using any particular skill. True, like a musician holding an instrument, whatever she did, she did it well, but he didn’t feel like it was a planned seduction as in the first time he had been with her. Now, she felt like any other woman, or at least, Max so thought. Max knew that his father’s main disappointment in him had been his, Max’s, lack of skill in bedrooms. Max leaned back Tess snuggled on his lap and into his arms. Max knew he was awkward in the physical presence of women. Tess, also, now felt like she was unsure and, thus, seeking certification for her behavior. Her hands didn’t inflame him as they had before. As they did touch his still blistered skin, they felt like they were exploring to discover what sensations they would cause. This was so unlike the other Tess, where she knew to a degree, what every movement would provoke. Max picked her up and carried her to the far end of the sleeping platform. When he made love to her, it was with the same tender love he showed to Maria or Elizabeth. It was slow and deliberate. The actions Tess had perfected to expedite the session of love were clearly absent. Tess was just in his arms because, for the first time, she had a man who, maybe, she loved. First, Tess and, then, Max used the shower. When he was out, the other women were awake and partially dressed. They had a few hours before they, again, retired to sleep until the long night gave way to the warming morning.

Before returning to sleep Elizabeth took a glass retort or type of beaker. that she had been using to reduce an extract she had obtained from plants similar to those that Max and Maria had piled to use as fuel to reduce the limestone. The extract was a greasy substance that she proceeded to rub into the skin of Max’s naked body. He found it remarkably soothing or, maybe, he felt the application of it was soothing. Tess, while helping apply the medication found her hands lost their roughness. Elizabeth had discovered a remarkable skin cream. The four made it a ritual. Just before the second sleep period every night, one of their members would be treated to a message and rubdown with this remarkable cream.

As soon as the alarm went off, the four castaways rose, ate and went about their chores. Again, Elizabeth and Tess were working outside looking for specimens. Max took Maria and they began a survey of all the workings of the shelter. Max would take Tess and Elizabeth next time. He wanted Maria to calibrate the consumption of resources so they could plan ahead. Maria was also to survey an area to lay out a cistern to collect water the next time it rained. They would set up a depression to collect the water and devise a method to pump the water into one of the holding bladders.

After they had showered and had their mid-day meal, they settled into a couple hours of lab work until they took their mid-day rest. Max and Tess were going over her discoveries of microbes. Maria and Elizabeth were working on the other side of the shelter inventorying their stores of foods and power packs. “Maria, how many men have your loved?” Elizabeth asked, still on her quest.

“Well, I thought I was in love with my mentor until I discovered he had a stable of entertainers and I was just another of his playthings. I fear Lord Rath. I do not think I could ever love him. Since Lord Rath took possession of me, I have not been free to seek love anywhere. I like Max, but Max is in line to be King. I wonder if he would just sell me to whom ever would give him power? Maybe, even send me back to Lord Rath if it is politic for him to do. I don’t know how much I trust him. I also know we need him in the worst way, since he is the only one of us who might know enough for us to survive until rescue.”

Elizabeth nodded her head. She was formulating a question in her mind that she had to answer. Would she ever know love? The other two women had experience with sex. They had known several men and they knew what it was to be lusted for. She, Elizabeth, had never known the touch of a man. Nor had she known the touch of a woman since she reached puberty. Max was all she knew. So, how was she to know if she was in love or being loved? How was she to know if she went to Max whether he was taking her in love or just some sense of duty or, as Maria had said as a plaything?

That next sleep period, Maria and Tess had quickly fallen asleep as they had labored hard the last few days. Elizabeth just sat on the sleep platform watching Max. He was putting the finishing touches on his notes. When he stood up just in his shorts and stretched, Elizabeth could barely catch her breath. Max saw her sitting, watching him. He went over to her and softly began to caress her body. Elizabeth could feel her body giving way to his ministrations. Max took her face and kissed her lips. Then, he proceeded to softly kiss her eyes and face. He took her bare breasts in his hands. The hands of all of them were a lot softer now that Elizabeth had discovered her ointment. He massaged them while, again, kissing her. Max slowly pushed her back and with his left hand, he removed her panties. Again, in his way, he made slow and passionate love to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was sure this was love and not just sex, but how was she to really know. Until being a victim of the crash, she had had neither. If they hadn’t crashed, she would, by now, have been ripped into screaming pieces after first being savagely assaulted on the alter of a god she knew nothing about.

Max awoke with Elizabeth almost in a fetal position in his arms. Maria and Tess were curled around him. After morning meal, Maria helped Tess and Elizabeth to fix their packs. They, like Maria, had found sturdy shoes among the wreckage of the ship. Maria waved good-bye and she turned to her duties with the administration of the shelter.

Max took it slow because the women, even though they had been working every day, were not used to the long trek. The air was becoming warm as they arrived at the emergency shelter. They immediately shed their clothes, entered and started the conditioning mechanism of the shelter. Both girls were tired from the trek and, soon, they were both asleep. Max checked the gauges of the shelter and he, likewise, lay down. The princess was on the far side of the sleep platform. Then Tess and last of all on the outside of the platform, was Max. He was presented the bare white back of Tess. Max couldn’t resist as he let his hands glide up her back. At his touch, Tess arched her back like a cat. Max almost could hear her purring. He rubbed her shoulders and she half turned on her back in satisfaction. Max could gaze at her body without any embarrassment as she slept. There shouldn’t have been any embarrassment anyway because the closeness of quarters made any sort of privacy impossible. Max rose up on one elbow and, with his other hand, he caressed her breasts. They rose in response to his touch. This was something a whore would not do. Tess was responding to Max, not as a tease or as a professional, but as a sensual women who was enjoying the sensation of his touch. Max couldn’t help it, he leaned over and kissed her lips. Still without waking, Tess threw her arms around Max. No they didn’t make physical love that day, but Max did fall asleep in her arms as she pulled herself against his body.

The alarm went off. Max disentangled himself from Tess. He dressed and prepared to exit the shelter. The two women followed soon afterward. Max piled the grease wood with a depression in its the middle. The three people began to pile pieces of limestone into the depression. Then, they stepped back and Max lit the conflagration. The flames rose high and the smoke of the grease wood rose higher. The limestone could be seen crumbling into a powder. While it was still burning, the three went about collecting more grease wood and, then, limestone chips. It was almost time to go in for the night, when the mound cooled enough to handle. Max had brought a scoop and several bags. They filled the bags. Their hands burned as the caustic powder got on them. When they had finished, the three shed their clothes and entered the shelter. Tess had brought a jar of the extract. At first, they all rubbed it on their hands. Then, since they were stripped down, they took turns at rubbing the extract into each others bodies. Max leaned against one of the packs and with Tess under his left arm and Elizabeth under his right, he soon fell asleep.

Maria had worked all morning. She was careful to watch that when the sun started to warm, she was to go into the shelter. Max had warned her that if she was to be here alone, not to stray too far from the shelter, especially, as mid-day or night approached. If she was to fall or sprain something, she must be close enough to get back in the shelter before conditions became unbearable. She entered the shelter as the air got that heavy, hot feeling. She ate and, then, contemplated. When, at first, Max had asked her to accompany him in his trek, Maria had thought, correctly, that it was because she was the largest of the women and, probably, in the best condition of the three. Max more and more had called her aside to explain things he was doing. He had showed her the mechanism of the shelter and explained repairs as best he could. He had spent time going over the gauges and what they meant. He explained the need for protein which they hoped the next rain would give them in the form of the slugs. Max was hoping the slugs when bathed in caustic lime solution, would lose their acid. If so, then they could hope to learn to use the meat. Max had explained the water system carefully. First, the need for a cistern to catch the water. Then, treatment to purify it then pumping it into one of the bladders to save for future use. One thing bothered Maria. No matter what Max said, her going to him that first day had put him in jeopardy. Max, over and over, had said that Rath was not going to believe they would be celibate for the time of their abandonment. Still, she had gone to Max almost as a dare in the face of Rath. Now, there was no reason to stop. The worst had been done. Rath might try to kill Max and, surely, he would probably kill her. Rath was not a forgiving nor understanding man.

Maria contemplated the two other women she found herself with. At first, she had despised Tess who, after all, was just an expensive whore. As she learned more and more of the life Tess had lived, she began to understand that Tess had no more control of what happened than did Maria. In fact, they were both whores, women who sold their bodies to keep alive. Were they not still doing that? They were selling themselves to Max because he was the best one to help them survive. Keeping him happy was the most important thing they could do. Without Max, the women would probably die shortly. Then, Maria thought that was what Max was preparing them for. He was finding ways to make them self sufficient so they would have a better chance of making it to rescue if something happened to him.

What about the sacrificial princess? Maria had given Elizabeth no more consideration than had Tess, at first. She thought Elizabeth must be a fool to let something like that happen to her. After learning how naive Elizabeth had been kept from knowing the truth about anything, Maria now saw a tragic figure. The crash hadn’t just saved Elizabeth’s life, it had opened for her a world that had been locked away and forbidden. The questions Elizabeth kept asking! True, she had no one else to turn to, but it had troubled Maria thinking about Max. How much did any of them mean to Max. Was he preserving their lives as altruism or out of a selfish need for company, and sexual company at that? Maria drifted off to sleep with the questions running through her mind. When she awoke, she again with recorder in hand, began her inventory and inspection.

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Stories by ken_r
The Young Vampire is a light hearted story about a vampire.
Isabel canon story about isabel making her life without any help or support

carter13 i am glad you like it.


Chapter 6

Max woke up. It was the middle of the night. He would be up a few hours, then, retire again until morning. The slow rotation of the planet made scheduling difficult. They had packed several bags of caustic lye powder. They would carry as much as they could back to camp. Max would arrange something so they could safely leave the shelter here, rather than drag it back to the main camp. They would have to find something where it could be safe against the wind if another storm blew up. So far, they had not found anything living that could endanger their equipment. Max felt a presence behind him. It was Elizabeth. No matter how long they had all been together, Max, still found the nudity of the women disconcerting. Elizabeth sat beside Max. She seemed to want to talk. She was a little embarrassed to bring this subject up, but her conversations with the women hadn’t given her the answers she felt she needed. “Max, how many women have you had sex with?”

If her nudity threw Max off, her questions troubled him more. He wrinkled his forehead. “A couple of times at the palace, to please my father. They were courtesans of the palace. Of course, here I have slept with each of you several times.”

Elizabeth then asked, “How many times have you been in love?”

Max thought carefully. He wanted to be truthful to Elizabeth, but he, him self, wasn’t quite sure. “I am not sure, but I think I may have found love three times. I don’t know if that is possible, but I think it is. Rather I hope it is.”

“Max, do you love me?” Elizabeth asked shyly.

“Elizabeth, I think I might be in love with each of you women if that is possible. We are all dependent on each other. We do not know what will happen when we are rescued. Sometimes, I do not want to be rescued. Then, I remember that we cannot survive on this planet forever. I think about each of you having other lives and I do not want you to continue those lives. I will be king someday, but I do not know if I can save all of you,” Max concluded.

Elizabeth sat with Max for sometime when they heard Tess stirring. Like a cat, she stretched and walked over to where Max and Elizabeth were sitting. It was time to eat so they prepared a repast and then got down to work on their samples. Soon they would return to sleep and rise with the warming of the sun. Max planned to mine more limestone and find a place to hide the shelter. They worked toward these goals until it got hot and they retired to the shelter. After the heat period, they would have the hard march with their burdens of caustic lime to get to the main camp.

It was getting late. Maria was worried. She had quit an hour ago and returned to the shelter. She was watching the gauges as the temperature was starting to drop. Ever so often she would walk out in the cold and look toward where the travelers were to come. Nothing. If something were to happen to Max would the women be able to survive? They, eventually, did come back. Maria went to meet them and assisted with the heavy packs. Once inside the shelter, the women first, then Max all showered. Maria had prepared food so as soon as they were out of the shower, they could eat. There was not much talking. They all went to sleep as soon as they could. Max didn’t remember much about that night except that he slept almost through the midnight wake period. When he did wake up, it was only Maria who was tending the gauges and reports. The other women were still asleep. Max got up and went over to Maria and kissed her. She looked up and smiled. In Maria’s mind, she was trying to resolve how she saw Max. The questions of Elizabeth were troubling to her. The answers Maria had given Elizabeth troubled her even more. She had kept telling herself that Max would be king and kings do not keep promises even unvoiced ones of love and support. Max might, to keep peace, turn her over to Lord Rath without any qualms at all. The actions of Lord Rath were something Maria did not want to contemplate. But, when Max kissed her that midnight, Maria couldn’t help but build up feelings of love.

When Maria and Max again retired, they slept until almost the time when the alarm would sound. Upon awaking they saw that the other two women were up and working at their tasks. As soon as the alarm went off to announce that the temperature had risen high enough for comfortable work outside Max began to lay out the area Maria had chosen for the cistern. Maria was so pleased that Max accepted her figures and survey without question. That showed he was truly putting trust in her. Maria had been very careful to follow the guidelines that Max had laid out for her. The cistern had to be near the shelter, but it, also had, to be in a location where run off could be trapped in the next rain. They had no idea of how often rain would occur on this planet, but they had to be prepared. The caustic was stored safely so it would not get wet in any weather change. Max had set some blasting charges he found in the wreckage and when they were ready, they set off the fireworks. After the blast had cleared a hollow, it was up to the four of them to smooth out the sides of the depression. Max selected tools from those Tess and Elizabeth had found in the wreckage. Max was able to find material in the stores of the ship to line the cistern. After that, it was just a matter of connecting a purifying station and, then, a connection to one of the water bladders. While going through the wreckage, again, Maria made a discovery. She found another emergency shelter. The container had sustained a lot of damage and they would have to examine it closely to determine if they could use it. Packed within the shelter was another personal shelter that would accommodate one person. Max, on reflection, thought that the ship should have emergency equipment to service the whole crew and what ever passengers it would carry. They just hadn’t been able to find them, yet.

Max was planning another sortie back to the limestone mine. He intended to take Maria and they would work just at reducing the limestone into caustic. Then, he outlined how all three of them would return and pack back as much as they could. This would take some planning, It would necessitate all four of them in the small shelter and this would be difficult. Max thought that if they left early in a morning and arrived before the heat of the day developed, then after a midday rest they could return before it got too cold. He was very carefully considering this because returning with Tess and Elizabeth they had barely made the trip before the extremely dark clouds had set in. It was academic in the immediate future as in the next morning arising, they, again, saw clouds building up on the horizon. Max hurried the completion of the cistern. By mid-break, it was operational. Clouds, now, were evident through out the whole sky. After the mid-day sleep, Max organized another survey of the condition of the camp. They made sure every thing was secure. Their work time was cut short as soon the winds were building up. The ferocity and rapidity of the storm foretold of a major weather happening. They retired to the shelter and buttoned the doors down. Soon the electronic displays in the sky were apparent, even inside the almost opaque walls of the shelter. The noise rose like the last time, but, to Max it, seemed that it was of a higher pitch. This time, both he and Maria were monitoring the gauges. The other two women went about their chores of analyzing and recording their results since there was nothing else they could do. Tess thought, again, she was in a position where she was at the mercy of fates and had no control over what happened to her. Elizabeth was plainly scared, but she, also, knew that she was living past the time allotted to her at birth, anyway. The joys she had shared in the company of the women and Max were more than her destiny had apportioned her. Tess was fearful because, for the first time in her life, she felt she was finding something her father had stolen from her when he had sold her to the slave merchant. She had friends that she could comfortably talk to and she might be finding love, or at least a close approximation to it. Maria was busy helping Max check on all the indicators attached to the shelter. She, now, had a better idea how the shelter worked so she had more confidence in their security. Max knew he had done all that was possible. He, also, knew that no one knew the power of storms on this planet. It was perfectly possible that every thing made by man would bow and be destroyed by nature. He was also certain that this storm might last longer than they had endured the other time. One good thing though, the gauges attached to the cistern showed it was filling up. The conditioners of the shelter were on in full force. The power packs had been fully charged so, at least for a few days, they would have power.

When sleep period came, the four people slept close to comfort each other. No one felt like sex or any other amorous activity. By the midnight break they all got up. The noise was so bad that none of them were sleeping very well anyway. The walls shook as the wind passed over them. They tried to eat, but it was difficult. None of them felt like working, so they just sat on the sleep platform.

Max started talking, “There was this time when I was leading my father’s army. Rath was in the field a great many light years away. My father had charged me to put down some brigands who were robbing the local people of this minor planet. We landed in a storm. Not as vicious as this one, but it was still a storm, never the less. We landed and marched to the headquarters of the robbers. They were inside with no guards. They felt secure in the storm. We were able to surround and capture the whole lot. There is something about a safe enclosure that makes those inside feel secure. More so in mind, than in fact.

Max was not sure why he told that story. Starting out, he was trying to reassure his companions that they were safe in the enclosure, but to himself he kept wondering, “What if Lord Rath was the one sent to rescue the castaways? After all he was the crown prince and the king would be sending his best. Would Max have to meet Lord Rath on a planet where he had no other recourse but to fight? On his home world, Lord Rath would not do anything that would endanger his position with the king. Here, though, if Rath just killed all of the witnesses, no one would know what really happened to the king’s heir. Max could even imagine Rath now advancing on the enclosure. That was ridiculous. The storm Max had braved with his troops was mild compared to the full blast of this one. No, they were safe as long as the enclosure held. The four huddled together until sleep over took them.

Max woke up. His sleep had been restless thinking about Lord Rath just outside the enclosure ready to storm and claim his own. Max stood up. Let him! Max was more than his match in sword play and that is what Lord Rath would insist upon. His own sense of honor would demand it. Max would soon be king and he was going to claim the three women as was his right.

The storm still raged outside. The walls glowed as the inhabitants awoke. The air conditioners started as soon as movement was detected. Maria quickly got up. She, immediately, began her run down of the gauges. She turned to Max, “We can last a week if we have to. The power packs are all charged and the blowing wind is warm. Even in the night, we didn’t use that much power to keep the enclosure warm.”

To himself Max smiled. Maria was taking her duties seriously. She was doing all the work formerely done by Max and making predictions as to their security. Elizabeth served breakfast. It was made from the tubers they had collected and she had analyzed. There was a kind of bland toasted slab that could resemble bread. With it, she served a jelly that she had prepared from another tuber that had an excess of a compound similar to a sugar. She served a pudding that had been made from a baked tuber. On this, she had sprinkled another leafy substance that gave it pleasant flavor. Over all, it was a palatable breakfast.

flyawayraven here is more.


Chapter 7

As Max surveyed the storm through a view port he thought, the prince, the diva, the whore and the virgin. None of these titles or appellations were valid any longer. He, the prince, had taken over leadership to attempt the salvation of his small group of charges. The diva was now second in command. She was planning and preparing for their comfort. The whore was not that wanton, uncaring person she had been at first. Now, she was busy at work searching for pathogens that might endanger her fellows. The naïve virgin was no more. She was becoming more worldly every day. This was not an observation as to her beginning sex life, but also to her new position in their security. She was now the chemist who analyzed the food stuffs and planned how they could be used for meals which were both safe and nutritious.

Max returned to bed. He couldn’t think well in this noise. When he awoke they were all ready to get up. The wind had gone down and the rain was tapering off. As soon as it cleared up, they would have to go out and harvest what ever they could. Max checked the gauges and saw that the temperature was almost tolerable. The wind had been warm throughout the night so they could start earlier.

The mist was rising from the ground. Max could see the slugs writhing in the distance. He had made a tub from material he had found in the wreckage of the ship. He filled it with water and wheeled it nearer to the slugs. Using two pikes, Maria and Max speared one of the slugs. They maneuvered it into the tub. When they put it in the water it became dormant. Tess and Elizabeth had buckets of caustic lime slaked from the limestone. Max took the lime and poured it in the tub. It immediately went into solution and the slug came alive. The brew bubbled as the animal thrashed about. Soon, it subsided and was quiet. Max stirred the slug into the mixture. Nothing. They took it out and Elizabeth tested it. It was neutral. They laid it out. Then they went looking for another slug. Finally had 5 slugs laid out. WhileTess and Elizabeth were collecting bulbs and different plants, Max and Maria worked cutting up the slugs and preserving them in lime solution.

The next step was to beat the strips of slug until it became tender. Cooked in the oil that Elizabeth had found it made a tasty dish.

Everything seemed to be working smoothly. Max was preparing to take all three women and bring home as much lime as he could. Most of the caustic they had slaked in the fires of the grease wood, had been stored where hopefully, it would be protected from the storm. Max was worried because they were depending on the emergency shelter they had hidden to be in good enough shape to be used again. If it wasn’t, they would be in trouble during the heat of midday. It was a considerably slower trip for the four of them than it had been for Max and Maria together. It was slightly slower than it had been with Tess and Elizabeth. The heat was becoming overbearing by the time they found the shelter and had it set back up. By drinking a lot of water and covering their bodies, they had managed to stay out a lot longer than they normally did. The heat, though, took a lot of their energy. So by the time the shelter was erected, the four stinky people crawled into the shelter and Max ran the air conditioner at full speed. They talked very little. As soon as they ate a little and replenished the moisture they had lost, the four were fast asleep. On waking Max hurried the others even though the heat was higher than they normally would have braved. They secured the shelter and packed as much caustic lime as they could carry.

As least expected, it was Max that wasn’t watching as well as he should have. He was so busy watching the three women and worrying about them possibly getting hurt that he placed his weight on a crumbling outcrop of limestone. Max fell, badly twisting his ankle and hitting his head. From then on, it was just black.

Max woke up. He was in the emergency shelter back at the crash site. He tried to rise up off the sleep platform. He couldn’t. He hurt in everyway. Max searched his memory to see how he had gotten back. The last thing he remembered was watching to see if the women would be able to cross the ridge just ahead of him and then falling. Max heard the women, but he couldn’t see them. He finally managed to rise up on his elbows and, thus, to sit up with his legs off the platform. The shelter was different from the way he remembered it. He saw a dark place where a part of the wall used to be. He tried to stand, but the weight on his ankle was devastating. Even the stoic soldier in himself screamed in pain. The three women heard him and came running into the shelter from what Max was to realize was a door leading into a different building.

Maria was the first to get to him. She carefully put her arms around him and assisted him to lay back down. Tess and Elizabeth were right behind her. “How did I get here?” was the first question Max was to ask.

“We made a sling and carried you here,” was the reply.

Max made a face, “Did we loose the supply of lime?”

Tess smiled, “No, we finished bringing the last of it back yesterday.”

Max made a face, “How long have I been asleep?”

Elizabeth counted sleep periods on her fingers. “Two revolutions of the sun,” she stated. With the extended days that would have been a long time to be out.

Elizabeth brought Max some soup. It had a strange, but spicy taste.

He surveyed himself. The women had not only carried him back somehow, but they had cleaned him and fed him for the time he had been unconscious. Finally, Max asked the question, “What did you do to the shelter?”

This was Maria’s question to answer. “Remember the other shelter we found? Well with a little patching up, we made it livable. The life support systems were made to work with a little nudging. We have made this part living quarters and we have storage and a laboratory in the other shelter. With the additional life support, we have set up new power packs. In an emergency, we could live in one portion for 15 cycles of the sun. The women had bathed and wrapped his ankle. Elizabeth had spread a salve on it before hand. They had fashioned crutches so, with help, he could stand and walk to the table and to the toilet. The salve deadened the pain considerably. When he was finally up, Max found that Maria had comfortably taken over the command of the group and each of the other women were running their duties smoothly. Max, now, knew that he was no longer indispensable in the survival of the group.

Max had to remain within the shelter for several rotational periods of the planet. He noticed that one of the women stayed with him each time. Finally, during the time of Elizabeth’s nursing while she was sitting beside him talking, Max reached up and pulled her to him. Elizabeth melted in his embrace and, soon, she was returning to his body the love she had felt the many weeks since their crash. Max could never get over the compliancy he found in her body. She had been lied to for most of her life and, then, roughly informed as to the intentions that had been made for her death. Now, she seemed to be trying to make up for the years of abstinence from any sensations she had endured.

The women brought Max out into the fresh air. He couldn’t get around, but it was nice to sit in the morning sun and observe the changes the women had instituted. As the work periods went by, Max was surprised at being assigned nominal duties that he could accomplish while sitting. Maria had the mechanizations of the site well in hand. One evening when the other women had already gone from the cooling air, Maria came to Max and sat in his lap. She took his head in her hands and began kissing him. Maria did not know what Max would inevitably do with her or to her, but for right now, she was able to confront him with unconditional love. Maria was able to make love with him on a blanket beside his chair. She had come to him without need, or feelings of duty, but with her new independence, she came to Max genuinely with love in her heart.

When they went back in the shelter, both of them were sustaining a chill. The only thing both of them were sure of was that no matter how uncomfortable they were at the moment, it had been worth it.

Max was better able to walk with a cane the women manufactured from the wreckage. It was getting close to the time when they would go in from the heat of mid day. Max and Tess were harvesting tubers. Tess was watching Max as he worked. He was dressed just in shorts. She had a halter and shorts that she had made from the material they had found in the wreckage. As they were picking the tubers which Elizabeth would pickle in the acid of the slugs, Tess was thinking how much she was desiring to make love with Max. She was also thinking in her mind of how strange this feeling was. From the time Tess had sat in the cubical she had considered sex as just a chore. When she had been ignored, she counted it as a blessing. True, if she was ignored for too long a time, she was punished. Tess was a commodity and she was to earn for her masters a certain amount of revenue. Now, all she could think of was being in his arms and to share kisses with him. This was a new sensation. Before, kisses were given by Tess to hurry the arousal and to hasten the climax so she could return to her own world, which she kept deep within her self. Now, this inner world had a visitor. It was the person of Max. Tess wondered what would happen when they were rescued. would she would be forced to go back to the duties of her owners? Now, she only could think of being with and bringing to Max the love she had never felt before.

They would have to return soon. Tess was sure that Maria and Elizabeth had already retired back to the shelter. Tess approached Max from behind. She put her small arms around his body. They were far from able to reach around him. Max when he felt the arms he stood up straight and closed his eyes. He wondered if his father had ever felt the love these women were giving to him. He was forming a stronger resolve to claim all three from their former masters and owners. Max was deciding that he did not want his life to be bereft of their presence.

Max turned around within the incomplete circle made by Tess’s arms. He faced her and lifted her face to receive kisses of his affection. He wondered at the hundreds of men who had taken Tess as they would have taken an inanimate object. They were never to know what lurked deep inside of her. It was Max alone who found this. He had found a treasure that no amount of payment would be able to experience. He felt her halter fall from her body and, then, he slipped off her shorts. Still locked in their embrace, Max wiggled out of his own shorts. He fell back on the soft grass with Tess on top of him. Max could feel the slight irritation of the grass on his bare skin. It only stimulated his arousal and energy which he was putting into the orgasm he was forming with the wanton, but almost virginal, at least in love, woman. They writhed as they sought to stimulate each other. It was several minutes until Max in almost a convulsion rolled over to place Tess on the bottom. Now, he proceeded to vigorously make love to the woman. When they were both exhausted, they rolled over and gazed at the sky. No conversation passed between them. For sometime, they just lay in the hot sun. Finally, Max shrugged, or at least as much of a shrug as he could manage lying in the grass. He rolled over and, being careful of his ankle, Max got up. With a hand, he reached for Tess and raised her to sitting position. Max proceeded to put back on his shorts. Tess, likewise, dressed and together each taking a handle of the basket they were carrying, they proceeded into the shelter. When they had entered, Maria and Elizabeth had already showered. They were sitting in just the normal uniform of the household, that of only panties. Max stripped first and placed his clothes in the cleaner, proceeded to the shower. He didn’t see the look on the faces of the three women. When he came out, he felt a prickly sensation on his skin. He looked down at his chest and saw the lobster red of his skin. He was badly sun burned. He stood before a mirror that had been placed against a wall of the shelter. His whole front was beet red. Elizabeth and Maria started to giggle. About that time Tess, already undressed, walked over to the shower. Max could see her backside. It also was beet red. He now knew what the prickly feeling he felt in his back was caused by. Maria and Elizabeth were unmerciful in their mirth. When Tess got out of the shower she along with Max, was led to the sleep platform. First, they were layed on their backs and the salve that Elizabeth had made was rubbed all over their fronts. This wasn’t so bad, but Elizabeth was becoming worldly enough to make puns and comments answered by Maria. When they were flipped over and the salve was lathered over that part of their bodies, the comments of the two unaffected women became even worse. Max closed his eyes. The soothing salve put him to sleep. When he awoke, he was alone beside Tess. The other women were working at their duties.

Max sat up. His movement awakened Tess. She, likewise, sat up. Max tried to put on his shorts, but the pain was just too great. Tess cried out also. They stood and, with great difficulty tried walking. Max took two towels and placed them over chairs at the table. First he told Tess to turn her back to him and he proceeded to gently rub the salve into her burned skin. He turned away from her and she did likewise. The salve felt good but her hands, as they massaged all over his body, felt even better. They finally sat as they proceeded to rub salve over their own fronts. Max had a gleeful thought that he should have suggested that they each did this for the other, also. They found several items of food left by Maria and Elizabeth for them. The items were all things Elizabeth was finding and preparing that were natural to the planet.

It was a long time before either Max or Tess were free from comments about being too distracted to come in out of the sun. Since she had been the first to approach Max it was fitting that Maria was the first person to become pregnant. Both Maria and Tess had forms of birth control they used; Maria when she was with Rath and Tess all of the time. They were both charged not to allow their bodies to become pregnant because this would restrict their use by their masters. Maria had just started taking the medicine, but when the ship wrecked, she had lost her supply. Tess had also lost hers but she had been taking the medicine for so long that it might be doubtful if she ever could become pregnant. If course, Elizabeth had never been exposed to any such prophylactic material.

Chapter 8

It was several weeks before Maria was sure. She was worried about what Max would say. If it had been Rath, he might have caused her to abort the child by beating her in a fit of rage. “Max, I do not know how to tell you this, but I am pregnant,” Maria stated.

Max looked at her for a few minutes and Maria feared the worst. She had become pregnant and Max had done so much for her. Not only saving her, but giving her so much authority. Had she, someway, let him down? Maria was not sure what emotion she would elicit from Max, but the embrace of joy wasn’t one she had been considering. Maria wasn’t supposed to ever become a mother, at least until she was old and not desirable as a sex object. Max held her and he wept with her as he told her how much she meant to him. The other women also gathered around Maria. They were trying to figure out when she would be due, but the active sex life they all were experiencing made this difficult.

After the next work period, they all began a search of what was left of the wreckage for any information about birth. Among the medical facilities that they hadn’t yet excavated, they found a container which was marked emergency birth kit. In this kit they found many supplies and several books on the subject.

Max suggested to Maria, who was now in charge of scheduling work details, that they go back to allowing at least one work period every four sun rotations dedicated to scrounging the ship for more salvage.

After reading the manual and a text book on medical problems, Maria decided that sex between them, at least for a time, would be not only beneficial to their mental well-being, but also would cause no harm. It was almost a month later when Elizabeth came to Maria. “How do you know you are with child?” she asked.

Maria gave her one of the books to read. Elizabeth had had a good schooling because being educated was part of her value when she was to be sold. She had been advertised as totally virginal in sex or in any pain to her body, but she was a highly educated woman who would be a great sacrifice once the ceremony had begun. She wouldn’t be some inarticulate child who had no idea of what they were doing. She would be totally cognizant once the ceremony began of what they were doing and her screams would satisfy the populace immensely.

Now, not only was Elizabeth destined not to die, but she was to enjoy the wonder of birth and motherhood. Elizabeth, who had been sold to die, was now a vessal for an heir to the throne.

Tess supported the other women, but she felt deeply sad for the years she had been used cruelly. She had been on birth control medication since she was a dancer just over 12 years old. Tess knew, in all respects, that she would probably be sterile.

Outwardly, nothing changed. Maria had taken over the direction of the group and, with occasional help from Max, she was doing every thing possible to keep them alive. She undertook Tess as an understudy. The two women worked together daily as Tess was learning all about the shelter and surviving. Maria, like Max before, was thinking of her mortality. Childbirth had long ago been banished as a killer of women, but that was with modern facilities. They would be centuries behind here and Maria was learning the dangers she might face.

Elizabeth didn’t care. She was not supposed to live, much less become a mother. Now, the feelings she had suppressed when she had seen women with their children were allowed to run free. She read the same literature that Maria did and they talked about it a lot. Elizabeth simply decided that she was being allowed more than her life had been planned for, so she would take what came with no regrets. They all had discussed the coming event. The medical kit was complete, but if complication arose they might be in trouble. Maria was now definitely showing. The other women began to take some of her heavier tasks.

Max was now fully healed, both from his fall and, also, his adventure with sunburn. They had begun to wear more clothing when they had to work in the sun. Soon Maria was definitely having trouble getting around. Elizabeth was reveling in the sensations she was having. Even the morning sickness was something she thrilled at. She was never allowed to feel pain but once and that pain was to have been devastating. Now, she was feeling the everyday pain of being a woman. Discomfort could not dim the fact that this was not supposed to be. Elizabeth was a woman, alive and becoming very pregnant. Tess, now, was nominally the leader of the group. It was she who read the gauges every day. It was she who worried about the power when they experienced almost a week-long storm. It was she who organized time to salvage the wreckage looking for more power supply modules including charging units and more power packs. To Max, it seemed that as Maria’s time drew nearer, Tess worked harder. She and Max were together more and more as the other women had to remain nearer to the shelter. Neither wanted to experience the terrible sun burn of before but they did experience, protected from the sun, many more love makings activities

Max had read that the strength of the women would be a positive when they went into labor. They had all been doing physical work in securing the holdings. When, at last, it was Maria’s time, they all crowded around and with an minimal of effort, she gave birth to a baby boy. He seemed healthy. Max had been worried that maybe the diet they were eating might cause some abnormality. Either a deficiency or abundance of some mineral or vitamin could cause the children not to be normal. No such chance. If anything, the baby was stronger than other children Max could remember. He remembered the half sisters his mother birthed after she left his father. He had been removed from her care a good part of the time, but he was exposed, a little, to the infants who he had, at the time, felt had replaced him in his mother’s heart.

Maria’s baby was thriving and growing fast when she returned to her previous position as director. It was not long before Elizabeth’s time arrived. She was remarkably calm. She insisted that no matter what happened, she had experienced the beginning of motherhood. She had lived beyond her count-down timer. Her life, even if stopped, was far better than it had been intended. Because Elizabeth was smaller than Maria, her labor was more intense. Work shifts were put on hold. Tess took care of Maria’s infant, except for the times when she nursed. Max and Maria were by Elizabeth’s side around the clock. After an extremely long labor, at least to the reckoning of Max, Elizabeth delivered a girl. Elizabeth reveled in all the pain and sensations that she was never supposed to experience. She had beat the slavers who sold her and, also, the beasts who were planningto kill her. She was not only alive, but, also, she had produced another soul, just now brought into the world.

Since Maria and, now, Elizabeth were nursing children, Tess took her place traveling with Max. They had traveled eight hours walk to almost every point of the campass. It was Max’s plan to travel two eight-hour shifts toward the mountains. He and Tess had packed food and other articles they thought they might need. Max had a small shelter with the usual power packs. They would have to use it over an extended night. That meant several sleep periods. They would have to depend on the shelter during the day and during the night. This was a more ambitious trip than the others Max had taken. He felt that the more they knew about the planet, the better were their chances of survival. They would travel quickly, but carefully toward a mountain. This was the first sign of any anomaly they had seen. They would’t reach the mountain, but they would see new country. They laid out signal beacons and would retrace their path coming back. Then, they would collect specimens, both plant and mineral. Tess, with her blond hair blowing the breeze and lightly tan skin, was a picture of health. She was wearing shorts and a shirt tied at the waist. The shoes she had found were a fair fit and with the strength she had developed, she made a good companion. Tess was smaller than Maria, but she did almost as much. Max had noticed that Tess seemed to be depressed. He had an idea it had something to do with the other women having children. When the air got hot. Max called a halt and they set up camp in the small shelter. In their normal disrobed condition they crawled into the shelter. After eating, they lay down to rest. They had been used to the schedule so much that the sleep periods and the working periods were becoming natural. Max was lying on his side with Tess facing him. Her breasts were standing out with desire. Max felt that there was nothing of the old whore left in her. Tess was now a congenial companion to the whole group. The feeling of being left out in the mommy department was the first dissatisfaction Max had seen. As Tess relaxed, she held Max very tightly. It was as if she was now afraid she would lose him if she let him go. Max nuzzled her hair with his lips. He kissed her over and over. He could feel her face pull close to his chest. Max couldn’t help it. He could feel him self aroused. In fact, his breathing was also becoming faster and deeper. With one arm around her, he took the other and carefully rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He could feel the blood rush to this area as the nipple hardened. Rich men had paid amounts that would equal the treasuries of many governments for a week with Tess. Max had now possessed something they could never buy. Max was sure he held her heart. He kept thinking about when they would be rescued. Her owners would demand her return. Max was now of a mind that he would take his country to war rather than give her up. All three women were becoming part of Max’s life. Max ran his hand down between her breast. At his touch, she would, at first, quiver and then, she would arch her body to embrace his touch. As Max’s hand wandered down to the waist band of her panties, he could feel her still trembling at his touch. Max stroked the hair of her groin. She amost purred. That was Tess. When she was enjoying something, she became more cat like. Max felt himself tiring as the shelter warmed. Finally with his hand still in her panties, Max drifted off to sleep. In his sleep he kneaded muscles of her groin. When Max woke up, Tess was still asleep. His hand was still in her panties. Carefully, Max detached himself from Tess. He checked the temperature outside. It would be just an hour or so before it would be cool enough outside. Tess’s eyes opened. When she got up her breast still taunt. She came over to Max. She put her arms around his neck and was kissing him. “I woke up in the middle of the sleep period and what you were doing felt so good. I was very careful not to disturb you so you wouldn’t stop.” Tess had never had someone do anything to her before to create feelings of joy unless they were getting more in return. She was slowly deciding that she would die before she left him. Even if he gave her away as Maria was always reminding them he might, Tess didn’t want to live without the ministrations of Max.

Soon, they were packed and traveling again toward the mountains. It was becoming cooler, too cool to be comfortable be traveling. They set up night camp. When Max crawled into the shelter, he found Tess undressed and extending her arms to him. Her eyes pleading to be taken. There were no gymnastics, no techniques that were valued at the price of a kingdom. There were just tears and cries that were given in love as their bodies responded. Max lay quietly beside her. As they both drifted off to sleep, he heard Tess’s plea. “Please, Max, do not send me away. Please do not make me live without you!”

The sleep period ended. Max pulled on his shorts. He promised himself that when rescued, he would find a way to keep all of the women near him.

The midnight work time was not a busy time this night. They ate and worked on a map Max was making of the area around their home shelter. He drew in the mountains and the other land markings they remembered from the afternoon. As they worked, Tess said, “I do not intend to go back to the slavery to which I was indentured. I do not intend to sell my self, ever again, to increase the riches of my masters. They were right to forbid me the right to ever know love and to only see the physical advantages of sex as a means to acquire power. Now, I find the thought of going back to an unfeeling whore as abhorrent as anything I can envision. I may not be able to mother a child and fulfill the station that even the household maid is able, but I do not want to be totally cut off from the feelings that ensure a child, if conceived, would be loved.”

Max said nothing. He wanted to keep the women to himself, but he knew that economics would arise and their fate might be removed from his care. Tess started again, “Maria says that you may not be able to keep promises made to us in a real political world. You might, to preserve your political position, have to return us to our former positions. Max, I will not live to go back. There is nothing that could make exist in that life. My inability to perform will just cause my owners to destroy me, anyway.” She clung to Max. Deep inside of her mind was the fear that Max would fight harder to keep the other two women because they had his children, but she had given nothing to Max. Would he consent to fight to keep her as well?

Tess clung to Max through out the last nighttime rest. She had frightful dreams as she slept. Max, likewise, was worried. He was a prince, not a king. Would he decide to overthrow his father and demand the throne? If he did demand the throne, would his father consent? Then, there was Lord Rath. What would he make of the prince who had soiled his nest, taken the woman who Rath clearly owned, and despoiled her with his child? How would Rath take this? Would his first act as King be to engage the frightful and skillful lord in mortal combat? If he did and he lost the combat he would not do any of the woman any good. As a dead advocate, nothing he intended would come to pass. It was a fretful rest until the alarms notified them that the air was warm enough to continue their journey.

They would return home now. The only thing they had found different was limestone caves. This would be a factor if rescue was delayed much longer than the intended year. They could move into the caves with their nearer constant temperature. The plant life was varied through out their journey. They found several plants that Tess would give to Elizabeth to analyze. They did have a strong aroma of spices. The Mountains were still far away. Max figured, with the need for shelter in the middle of the day and in the night, they couldn’t afford to ever go that far. The limestone gave evidence that, at one time, the whole planet, or at least the part they had seen, had been under water and that sea life had flourished. Their packs would get heavier as they progressed closer to home. Toward the heat of the day, Tess caught herself thinking that this would be the last time she would have Max to herself for a long time so she should make the best of it. For Tess, even thinking that way was unusual. At first, she only wanted to show that she could wield sexual power as well as the other women. Then as she began to care for Max, she was not jealous about sharing him with the other women. Now the other women had experienced from Max the joy of pregnancy. No matter what she told herself, she felt that if she was just given a little more time with Max, she also could achieve this station to which more and more she aspired. When it had been decided that the other women couldn’t afford to be on a long trip, it was as if they were saying we are mothers and we deserve consideration. You are just a woman and dispensable to the home front. Then Tess thought, “You had your chance with Max and he filled you with child. Now, I, for two entire revolutions of the sun, will have the prince to my self.

When midday came and they crawled into the shelter, Tess, the artisan, almost surfaced. She had to catch herself as she turned to face Max. No, she wanted him more than anything, but her skills had nothing to do with the way Tess wanted him. She could have convinced Max to do anything she wanted him to. The true joy she was now learning was to experience the joy of him doing what he wanted and that he was striving to pleasure her as a gift and not a skill. Max did come on to Tess. He slowly engulfed her whole tiny body in his arms and his hands explored the very soul that Tess, heretofore had not realized she had. Love with Max had become something she looked for as a thrilling experience with the actions of Max unperceived and unexpected. The only skill Tess allowed herself was to prolong the experience. When she and Max fell exhausted into sleep, Tess felt that she had truly been at the center of Max’s attention and of his desires.

It was late when they finally returned to the home shelter. Both of them were totally exhausted. The other two women had been on lookout for them. They helped them into the shelter even though the night air was biting.

BETHANN thankyou. I personally believe that polygamy and polyandry are impossible social situations. There is tons of historical fact to back this. Multiple spouses, always has led to social power struggles that weaken rather than strengthen the family. In this story I tried to create the least struggle in political position that I could. Only within Maria does the fear of politics rear it’s head. Their survival depends upon them working together. Maybe this is the answer. They are all so busy trying to keep living they can’t afford to squabble. Most of the historical references to multiple spouses are in societies where there is an abundance of leisure time. Maybe the devil does find fertile time in using idle hands. Anyway the story is fun and that is the purpose.

Chapter 9

It was many rotations since the trip. Maria had the work details well on schedule. Max noticed that had Tess began to read the maternity books. Tess stood before the group. “I am now sure, against all odds, that I am pregnant.”

The other women hugged her. It was almost as endearing a demonstration as they had shown when Elizabeth started to just wear panties and, then shorts, when they were in the enclosure. Now Tess was included within the cadre of mothers-to-be. By this time, Tess was becoming fretful. Her body was having difficulty in adapting to her pregnancy. Maria and Max, again, began to shoulder most of the labor, with Maria taking off time to nurse her child and Tess and Elizabeth taking care of the infants the rest of the day. As time went on, it was becoming clearer that Tess was going to have a difficult pregnancy. Maria’s birthing had been the easiest. Elizabeth had had trouble because of her small size. Now, there were any number of things inhibiting easy child birth for Tess. Maria had even increased the time in salvage trying to find as many medical items as possible. When the time came, Elizabeth took the two little ones as far as possible from the area where Maria and Max would be attempting to attend Tess. At no time from the first minute they ascertained that Tess was in labor, did Max loose his fear that Tess might die. It was the most difficult feeling, seeing someone you loved lying and screaming in pain, and to not be sure you had any ability to help. All Elizabeth could do was to hold the babies. She was thinking about the pain she had felt in childbirth. She also thought that if she had lived her life as intended, she would have experienced for an extremely long time every bit that which Tess was feeling. Elizabeth would have been rendered into pieces and doctors would have been present to keep her alive as long as possible. Her pain would have been for the benefit of the entertainment and faith of the crowd. They would have cheered as she screamed into incoherence for nothing more than their pleasure. Tess, at least, was hurting because she was trying to bring a life into the world. As the screams grew louder, Elizabeth held the two infants to her chest. Elizabeth, herself, was sobbing. Then there was only silence. Elizabeth set the infants in their beds and sat with her face in her hands.

There was no noise at all in the shelter. The air conditioners hadn’t started to function as yet. There was no wind outside to vibrate against the flexible walls. Elizabeth wondered how the crowd would have reacted when, finally, her body would have given its last breath, the doctors being unable to resurrect her again. The priest would have announced that her spirit had fled to the terrible gods for which she had been purchased. Elizabeth was shaking when Max and Maria came back into the living quarters. Maria was carrying a bundle, which from time to time, she clasped against her chest. She handed the bundle to Elizabeth. It was a baby boy. Max just shook his head. He had done all that he could. In a minute, he and Maria would return to tend Tess as long as she held onto her corporeal body.

Elizabeth held the tiny creature. It was like holding the soul of Tess. Tess wanted so much to enjoy the life of motherhood. Would this be all that she would be allowed? Just the pain, but never having the child suckle her breasts or cry as she held it against her chest. Elizabeth, who had almost experienced her own previous mortality during the time Tess was in such extreme labor, felt like Tess was to be denied anything that would have made what she had just gone through worth it. Elizabeth laid the infant safely in the small bed that Max had prepared days before. Elizabeth was exhausted, not that she had done anything, but her emotions were at their greatest height. She soon drifted into a fitful sleep.

Max and Maria had finally gotten the bleeding to stop. Looking at Tess’s body, it was doubtful that it would remain animate. Like a rag doll, Tess lay limp and almost disjointed. Maria had washed her and they changed the bedding. The air conditioning was now in full force, so Max had set the temperature a little higher than normal. Maria was trying to make what was left of her life more comfortable. She could see the crystal blue eyes flutter as she tried to regain conscious. Max came over and held her hand. Maria was holding the other. They could feel a week squeeze as Tess tried to acknowledge them. She tried to ask about the baby. Maria leaned over, “You have a beautiful baby boy.”

Tess just smiled. Then, she drifted off to sleep. Work schedules would be totally suspended for a time. Elizabeth suckled the baby when it made a cry. The child was strong in contrast to the near death of his mother. Max and Maria took turns watching Tess during the next rotation. None of them went outside. Maria did look out the door. She saw, again, clouds building up on the horizon. From experience, they were finding that the time from a cloud build up to a storm was about a complete rotation. Every thing was battened down and Elizabeth was caring for Tess’s baby along with her own. Maria took time off to nurse her own child. Max had tried to get Tess to take some water. He had made a concoction with electrolytes that he hoped would help improve her dehydration. He and Maria cleaned and changed her clothes regularly. They tried, as much as they could, to ease her discomfort. Tess hadn’t died. She was still hanging on. That was a good sign. Tess kept holding on to hope that she would be able to raise her child. They had brought the baby into her several times. Even in her severe condition, it was important for the baby to attempt to suckle to acquire the natural immune fluid that the mother would have and to help her milk to start flowing. It seemed that each time she spent with the infant, Tess got stronger. Max was a soldier and not a priest or a doctor. He didn’t even try to account for the improvement in Tess. They managed to allow her to spend a few minutes with her child during every wake period.

When the storm hit, it was the biggest yet. Max moved Tess closer to the sleeping platform. The wind howled as it built up force. Tess would fall asleep, but the rest of them couldn’t. The lightning outside and the thunder frightened the little ones so that Maria and Elizabeth had their hands full. Max, alone, now tended Tess. Once when he was about to pass out from fatigue, he felt her move. He looked up at her face, so drawn and pained. “Max, you look like Hell!” she managed to smile. He leaned over and kissed her. She remained awake for a few minutes. When she seemed to rest, Max knew he was going to have to rest himself. Max almost passed out. This was dangerous because he needed to be alert. Maria and Elizabeth were in better shape than he, but could he trust them to be able to keep awake either?

Max had slept for almost eight hours. He awakened and looked around. Maria was asleep on the platform. Elizabeth was awake and nursing an infant. Max couldn’t tell which one it was. Max looked at her and she smiled. Max went over to Tess and saw that Elizabeth or Maria had cleaned her up again and changed her with a clean dressing.

He leaned over and it seemed that her breathing was stronger. The wind was still so strong that he had trouble hearing. The storm had been blowing now for two rotations. When he leaned over, Tess woke up. As he kissed her lips, she smiled. Maria stirred and, soon, she also was awake and checking first the gauges and, then, Tess. This time when Tess was given her baby, she smiled as he crawled against her breast. Max was beginning to believe Tess might have a chance.

Tess had lost a lot of blood. She would need a iron rich diet so Elizabeth sought through her notes to find suggestions for food stuff that would help her. As the storm subsided, Tess became stronger. On the first day when the storm had quieted enough that they could venture out, Max actually helped Tess to sit up. She was trying to nurse for a few minutes. Elizabeth and Maria would nurse the child enough to keep it alive, but they still wanted Tess to bond and further stimulate her milk flow. It was two more rotations before Tess was able to get around a little. They had missed the harvest from the storm, but they had saved a large fraction of their rapidly increasing party.

Rotation by rotation, Tess got stronger. She tended the babies while the other women and Max worked outside. Maria had rescheduled the work time so she and Elizabeth could return at intervals to nurse their infants. As Tess strengthened, Maria made several slings so the women could carry the babies outside and let them get sun and fresh air. They were careful to not have the infants out during the heat of the day or during the chill of twilight.

This was the situation when the rescue ship finally landed

BETHANN thankyou. I personally believe that polygamy and polyandry are impossible social situations. There is tons of historical fact to back this. Multiple spouses, always has led to social power struggles that weaken rather than strengthen the family. In this story I tried to create the least struggle in political position that I could. Only within Maria does the fear of politics rear it’s head. Their survival depends upon them working together. Maybe this is the answer. They are all so busy trying to keep living they can’t afford to squabble. Most of the historical references to multiple spouses are in societies where there is an abundance of leisure time. Maybe the devil does find fertile time in using idle hands. Anyway the story is fun and that is the purpose.

Chapter 9

It was many rotations since the trip. Maria had the work details well on schedule. Max noticed that had Tess began to read the maternity books. Tess stood before the group. “I am now sure, against all odds, that I am pregnant.”

The other women hugged her. It was almost as endearing a demonstration as they had shown when Elizabeth started to just wear panties and, then shorts, when they were in the enclosure. Now Tess was included within the cadre of mothers-to-be. By this time, Tess was becoming fretful. Her body was having difficulty in adapting to her pregnancy. Maria and Max, again, began to shoulder most of the labor, with Maria taking off time to nurse her child and Tess and Elizabeth taking care of the infants the rest of the day. As time went on, it was becoming clearer that Tess was going to have a difficult pregnancy. Maria’s birthing had been the easiest. Elizabeth had had trouble because of her small size. Now, there were any number of things inhibiting easy child birth for Tess. Maria had even increased the time in salvage trying to find as many medical items as possible. When the time came, Elizabeth took the two little ones as far as possible from the area where Maria and Max would be attempting to attend Tess. At no time from the first minute they ascertained that Tess was in labor, did Max loose his fear that Tess might die. It was the most difficult feeling, seeing someone you loved lying and screaming in pain, and to not be sure you had any ability to help. All Elizabeth could do was to hold the babies. She was thinking about the pain she had felt in childbirth. She also thought that if she had lived her life as intended, she would have experienced for an extremely long time every bit that which Tess was feeling. Elizabeth would have been rendered into pieces and doctors would have been present to keep her alive as long as possible. Her pain would have been for the benefit of the entertainment and faith of the crowd. They would have cheered as she screamed into incoherence for nothing more than their pleasure. Tess, at least, was hurting because she was trying to bring a life into the world. As the screams grew louder, Elizabeth held the two infants to her chest. Elizabeth, herself, was sobbing. Then there was only silence. Elizabeth set the infants in their beds and sat with her face in her hands.

There was no noise at all in the shelter. The air conditioners hadn’t started to function as yet. There was no wind outside to vibrate against the flexible walls. Elizabeth wondered how the crowd would have reacted when, finally, her body would have given its last breath, the doctors being unable to resurrect her again. The priest would have announced that her spirit had fled to the terrible gods for which she had been purchased. Elizabeth was shaking when Max and Maria came back into the living quarters. Maria was carrying a bundle, which from time to time, she clasped against her chest. She handed the bundle to Elizabeth. It was a baby boy. Max just shook his head. He had done all that he could. In a minute, he and Maria would return to tend Tess as long as she held onto her corporeal body.

Elizabeth held the tiny creature. It was like holding the soul of Tess. Tess wanted so much to enjoy the life of motherhood. Would this be all that she would be allowed? Just the pain, but never having the child suckle her breasts or cry as she held it against her chest. Elizabeth, who had almost experienced her own previous mortality during the time Tess was in such extreme labor, felt like Tess was to be denied anything that would have made what she had just gone through worth it. Elizabeth laid the infant safely in the small bed that Max had prepared days before. Elizabeth was exhausted, not that she had done anything, but her emotions were at their greatest height. She soon drifted into a fitful sleep.

Max and Maria had finally gotten the bleeding to stop. Looking at Tess’s body, it was doubtful that it would remain animate. Like a rag doll, Tess lay limp and almost disjointed. Maria had washed her and they changed the bedding. The air conditioning was now in full force, so Max had set the temperature a little higher than normal. Maria was trying to make what was left of her life more comfortable. She could see the crystal blue eyes flutter as she tried to regain conscious. Max came over and held her hand. Maria was holding the other. They could feel a week squeeze as Tess tried to acknowledge them. She tried to ask about the baby. Maria leaned over, “You have a beautiful baby boy.”

Tess just smiled. Then, she drifted off to sleep. Work schedules would be totally suspended for a time. Elizabeth suckled the baby when it made a cry. The child was strong in contrast to the near death of his mother. Max and Maria took turns watching Tess during the next rotation. None of them went outside. Maria did look out the door. She saw, again, clouds building up on the horizon. From experience, they were finding that the time from a cloud build up to a storm was about a complete rotation. Every thing was battened down and Elizabeth was caring for Tess’s baby along with her own. Maria took time off to nurse her own child. Max had tried to get Tess to take some water. He had made a concoction with electrolytes that he hoped would help improve her dehydration. He and Maria cleaned and changed her clothes regularly. They tried, as much as they could, to ease her discomfort. Tess hadn’t died. She was still hanging on. That was a good sign. Tess kept holding on to hope that she would be able to raise her child. They had brought the baby into her several times. Even in her severe condition, it was important for the baby to attempt to suckle to acquire the natural immune fluid that the mother would have and to help her milk to start flowing. It seemed that each time she spent with the infant, Tess got stronger. Max was a soldier and not a priest or a doctor. He didn’t even try to account for the improvement in Tess. They managed to allow her to spend a few minutes with her child during every wake period.

When the storm hit, it was the biggest yet. Max moved Tess closer to the sleeping platform. The wind howled as it built up force. Tess would fall asleep, but the rest of them couldn’t. The lightning outside and the thunder frightened the little ones so that Maria and Elizabeth had their hands full. Max, alone, now tended Tess. Once when he was about to pass out from fatigue, he felt her move. He looked up at her face, so drawn and pained. “Max, you look like Hell!” she managed to smile. He leaned over and kissed her. She remained awake for a few minutes. When she seemed to rest, Max knew he was going to have to rest himself. Max almost passed out. This was dangerous because he needed to be alert. Maria and Elizabeth were in better shape than he, but could he trust them to be able to keep awake either?

Max had slept for almost eight hours. He awakened and looked around. Maria was asleep on the platform. Elizabeth was awake and nursing an infant. Max couldn’t tell which one it was. Max looked at her and she smiled. Max went over to Tess and saw that Elizabeth or Maria had cleaned her up again and changed her with a clean dressing.

He leaned over and it seemed that her breathing was stronger. The wind was still so strong that he had trouble hearing. The storm had been blowing now for two rotations. When he leaned over, Tess woke up. As he kissed her lips, she smiled. Maria stirred and, soon, she also was awake and checking first the gauges and, then, Tess. This time when Tess was given her baby, she smiled as he crawled against her breast. Max was beginning to believe Tess might have a chance.

Tess had lost a lot of blood. She would need a iron rich diet so Elizabeth sought through her notes to find suggestions for food stuff that would help her. As the storm subsided, Tess became stronger. On the first day when the storm had quieted enough that they could venture out, Max actually helped Tess to sit up. She was trying to nurse for a few minutes. Elizabeth and Maria would nurse the child enough to keep it alive, but they still wanted Tess to bond and further stimulate her milk flow. It was two more rotations before Tess was able to get around a little. They had missed the harvest from the storm, but they had saved a large fraction of their rapidly increasing party.

Rotation by rotation, Tess got stronger. She tended the babies while the other women and Max worked outside. Maria had rescheduled the work time so she and Elizabeth could return at intervals to nurse their infants. As Tess strengthened, Maria made several slings so the women could carry the babies outside and let them get sun and fresh air. They were careful to not have the infants out during the heat of the day or during the chill of twilight.

This was the situation when the rescue ship finally landed

Chapter 10_______________________

The year estimated by the pilot as he sent out the beacons was an optimistic hope. It was over two years before a ship entered space near the planet of the wreck with the intention of rescuing the prince and the other cargos of great value. They contacted the castaways and arranged a landing about a quarter of a mile from the shelter. The landing party, complete with doctors, advanced to the wreckage sight. They were met by seven people, four adults and three children, ranging in age from just under one year to three months. The doctors were the first to contact them. First, they were tested for pathogens that might threaten the crew of the ship. Then, were tested for their own general health. The doctors paid special attention to the children. Every one was pronounced healthy and hearty.

The sociologist moved in next. They needed much information, which they always sought, from those who had survived any sort of tribulation. The information given by these castaways would shape emergency crews, survival kits and training given to crews in the future. Engineers were already surveying the sight. They remarked at the cisterns that had been created and diverted into one of the water bladders to acquire and store water. The survival shelter itself was examined to determine how well it had withstood the stresses. Max had compiled data on what he and Maria had found on what turned out to be their many forays of exploration. There were the logs of Tess on pathogens and Liz on viable food supplies along with their stories of acquisition and preparation. The acquisition of starches had been easy. There had been many plants that produced starches that were safe for human consumption. The search for protein had been much more difficult. The primitive evolutionary status of the planet did not hold much in the way of fauna. Maria had found the slug, right after the first storm. It was about three feet long and it came out only after storms. They hadn’t yet had time to discover where it hid the rest of the time. They told how the slugs could be collected, slaughtered with great difficulty and treated to remove the acids its flesh contained. The flesh could, then, be pounded with tools until it was almost a mush. When cooked, it was tasty enoughand had many of the proteins the body needed. The castaways were well on their way to trying to discover methods for preservation of the flesh to tide them over the long seasons between storms.

They did run into a problem when the seven castaways embarked on the rescue ship. The ship’s purser wanted to declare the three women as salvaged cargo. Its value would be then divided among the crew. Max stood firm. The human cargo had not been abandoned. He Max, heir to King Zan, had declared possession of the cargo. Besides, the cargo now carried the progeny of the crown prince. Max would relinquish the scientific findings they had made and the knowledge of his log, but he held fast to the possession of the women. The insurance companies could pay off the owners as, he was sure, they had already been prepared to do. Max, heir of Zan, had preserved an abandoned cargo, abandon by the ship’s crew, and he declared possession. Maritime law going back to the beginning of time supported him, even if he hadn’t the added virtue of being the crown prince. The purser did some calculations. The scientific information Max was relinquishing was worth far more than the servitude of the three women.

The next problem was that, although it was not directly the next port of call, Max had demanded to be taken directly to King Zan. The ship’s captain knew that all was a matter of give and take. Max gave the research information. Max took the human cargo. Max demanded an immediate change of direction. Max, in all probability, would be the next king and the king’s favor would be very valuable to the company as it did business within the kingdom.

Once on the palace grounds, Max took his entourage and sealed them within his personal quarters. Then, Max confronted his father. This time as he entered the royal chambers, Max did not bow. He stood tall as an equal, which was not missed by his father. King Zan appeared to have aged greatly in the two-year absence. Before King Zan could speak, Max addressed him. “Father and King, I have returned as I was summoned. I have returned to request or, demand if need be, that you turn over the reins of the kingdom to me. I have served you faithfully in battle and now, in my knowledge, I am ready to offer you protection and pride in your next station as that as the father of the king.” Max stood with one hand on his sword. He knew what should happen, but history had been full of old kings refusing to step down.

Zan looked at his son. True, he was different from the pup Zan had summoned to take a wife and produce an heir. He growled, “What about the heir I required? A King must prove he can produce children to follow him.”

This time Max gave a slight bow, “Father, I have made you a grandfather three times over, one girl and two boys. They will all withstand genetic testing and they all will be strong, adventurous decedents. Their mothers all were strong and upheld their part in the two-year adventure thrust upon us.”

The king raised his eyebrows. His son had taken three lovers and, within two years, produced three off spring. The king smiled, “Perhaps, my son, you are right. What position would you have me fulfill?”

Max, for the first time, smiled at his father, “Father, I will always need the benefit of your advice and counsel. Especially, since I am embarking on a holy war of conquest to enrich our coffers and to cleanse our universe of a blight. I now pledge to destroy a planet that feeds on human sacrifice.”

It was that quick and easy. Of course, there were thousands of details that had to be worked out to make the transition of power complete, but from the time King Zan handed his scepter to Max, he, Max, was the reigning monarch. Now, Max had to face Rath. Rath had already heard that Max had returned and that Max held something that Rath rightfully believed was his. Rath entered the throne room. He was only mildly surprised that he now saw Zan sitting in position of councilor. He knew that Zan would eventurally give in and turn the kingdom over to that pup. Rath did not bow as he entered. Max stood. As Rath approached, his hand never strayed from his sword. Rath noted also that the hand of Max was also resting on his sword hilt. Before Rath could say anything, Max spoke, his voice booming so that it was heard not only by those in the room, but by the courtiers outside. “My good General Rath, I thank you for your gift of the singer Maria honoring my ascendancy to the throne.” Rath said nothing nor did he do anything. Max continued, “I hope the gift is a pledge of your support and homage, especially since I need you to lead an expeditionary force in a adventure of combat and conquest. I would name you general of all armies and request you to topple a government and destroy a religion. The governance of the conquered region would be yours, of course, with my consent.”

Rath just stood there. His able mind was analyzing what he was hearing. He had expected that the old king would soon give up his throne. Rath had asked himself what his position would be under the boy he had tormented. When he arrived at the throne room, Rath had intended to demand that Max relinquish his bound singer. Rath knew that if he pushed to hard, Max could easily order him to be executed. For Rath, that might be preferable to the existence of serving what he believed would be an essentially weak king. He had, now, been told by the new king, that the king intended to keep the singer. He had been offered a position of supremacy in an army that was being formed to enter a battle of conquest. He had been told that he, Rath, would be the regent of the conquered land. Rath, still glaring at the king, with pride knelt on one knee. He had drawn his sword and he presented it, hilt first, to the king. “My sword will serve you as long as my life still stands. Enjoy the favors of the singer as my gift and may she bring you contentment.” With that, Rath stood, bowed slightly and backed out of the throne room.

Max turned to his father. “Well done, so far, my son. Which of the women will you declare queen?” the old man asked.

Max replied, “I will not have a queen. Rather, I will take three concubines, which I will strive to treat with equality. I will declare and train my oldest son to be my heir. I will train my other children to take their proper places within my kingdom.” With that, Max rose and left the throne room. As he walked down the hall to his private quarters, he heard a chanting, “Long live King Max,” over and over. When he entered to be embraced by his companions, they, likewise, heard the chant. A new era, a new society and a new culture would now take over the kingdom.

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I try to write as many different things as i can. I have the canon story Isabel, Her secret Love. . It is about Isabel if she had listened to all who would rule her life. There is much argument because the writers of the TV didn’t every find a strong love interest for her. They made her mature faster than the other characters but the never matched her up with a proper young man who she could look straight in the eye. I picked the most unlikely person I could find and worked on him.

Smugglers of Antar this is a mystery which ends up Sci Fi. It is a sequel to the story Liz of the Desert.