Trapped with the Alien Transporter (Ragrim Explorations #1)

Chapter 13

Staying in bed with Ophelia sounded better than anything else ever had in his whole life, but the fact remained that the air was cooling noticeably in the rest of the ship. Going into the kitchen was miserable, and he had to figure out why.

It was hard to move with a half-dozen blankets wrapped around him, but Hsinth made it work. He also managed to avoid getting engine grease on them, but he’d rather have come out covered in the stuff rather than what he had to tell Ophelia.

“Engine’s about done,” he said grimly. “Best it’s going to do is warm the bedroom at this point. I’m rerouting all power to the heater in there, but we’ll have to limit trips out into the kitchen or anywhere else in the ship.”

Ophelia’s eyes were wide, but she gritted her teeth and smiled. He could still see the panic lurking in the set of her shoulders.

“I’m going to go check the beacon while I’m still wrapped up like this,” he told her. “Be back in a bit.”

He donned the environmental suit as quickly as he could and then slipped out the door into the galley. The faster he got this done, the sooner he could be back inside the ship.

There wasn’t quite a thin rime on all the metal surfaces from the cold, but there would be soon enough. Enough residual moisture still hung in the air to make it happen. Hsinth shuddered to think of the water tubes in the wall. Surely they’d have cracked by now under the pressure of the expanding water, unless—no, Ophelia had insisted on turning on the taps once he’d shut off the water pump. It wasn’t something he would have thought of on his own.

Hsinth was lucky to have her, but he hated that she was stuck here with him, on this mistaken little mess of a planet.

The inner door to the airlock opened easily enough, but the outer hummed and bumped as it pulled to the side slowly.

Hsinth groaned. The wall of snow that met him was nearly his own height, with only a little room at the top to reveal the overcast sky.

Why was it snowing this much ? The clouds weren’t that heavy, so where the hell was it coming from?

He managed to pull himself out on top of it and flattened out so he didn’t plunge straight through back to ground level. Getting onto the ship was easy enough, but then he saw movement at the far end. A low growl from the nose of the ship told him that if he wanted to scare himself silly, he could go look out the cockpit later and maybe get a glimpse of the native beasts. He moved quickly and quietly up to where the beacon was.

A blue light on top flashed gently against the snow covering it. Brushing it off wouldn’t make it more effective, but he did it anyway, sending up a silent prayer for help he was sure wouldn’t come.

With the ship covered like this, it would be harder than ever to find them. And now that the monsters had gotten brave enough to come near the Engsth ? Stars. He was just lucky they hadn’t shattered the cockpit window in the crash.

What was he going to tell Ophelia?

He could just not tell her anything and hope they both dozed off from the cold.

That wasn’t the worst way to go, right? She’d still be hoping for rescue and not dying panicked in the dark.

Hsinth gritted his teeth going back inside, but it gave him the strength to slip down the chute and into the still-open airlock.

A huge, hairy arm swiped down into the hole in the snow and he stifled a yell. Slamming his hand repeatedly on the close button wouldn’t make it seal faster, but he did it anyway until the hatch closed, cutting off the furious face of the monster that was currently trying to jam itself into the space in the snow that he’d cleared around the hatch.

He tasted bile at the thought of that thing pulling him back out there into the ice and the bright, unforgiving sky, leaving Ophelia alone. Hsinth couldn’t shuck his suit fast enough.

Diving back into bed woke Ophelia up from the light doze she’d fallen into. She quickly gathered him into her arms and exclaimed at how cold Hsinth was, and it took everything he had to not wrap around her and steal every joule of heat she was creating.

“Everything okay out there?” Ophelia asked.

“Just fine,” he said, kissing her on the forehead. “It’s a waiting game at this point.”

“You sure?” she murmured. “You look worried.”

“Not at all,” Hsinth said. “Let’s not focus on what’s out there, though. We’ve talked about where you’re going, but I don’t really know where you’re coming from. Did you leave anyone behind on Earth?”

Her face twisted a little. “A few coworkers. My mom, I guess. We don’t really talk much. Or at all, really.”

Oh. This was a topic she didn’t want to talk about. He scrambled for a new topic, but then Ophelia opened her mouth.

“My mom did everything she was supposed to do for a kid, but I don’t think we ever really connected like she expected us to,” Ophelia bit her lip. “I don’t know if you guys have that whole idea that when you look into your baby’s eyes you’re supposed to feel an all-encompassing love for them, but it’s a big stereotype on Earth. Like, she did okay raising me, it wasn’t an abusive situation or anything, I just don’t think she ever really felt that huge, world-shaking love for me like everyone always told her she would.”

Her hands were fisted in the blanket. “I promise, she really was a good mom. Made sure I did okay in school. I didn’t really make things easy on her, either. I was a weird kid, and she didn’t quite know what to do with me other than try to make sure I knew how to survive on my own.”

“What did she do?” Hsinth asked, fascinated despite himself. His people didn’t do the same biological family model that Earth practiced, but they still loved their children fiercely.

“Life skills,” Ophelia said. “Cooking, finances, cleaning in general, cleaning myself.” A bitter smile turned the corners of her lips up. “Those last two might be where I went off the rails a little. You may have noticed my freakout when it came to not being appropriately hygienic. That’s thanks to my mom. I guess she read too much stuff about people like me not following social cleanliness rules and wanted to make sure I never went down that path. Being too clean is better than being dirty all the time, you know?”

Hsinth, never having had to worry about that, decided it was best to not answer. “No siblings?”

“No,” she said. “I guess she figured one kid like me was enough. There’s some evidence it’s genetic. I always wondered if she was like me too, you know? Maybe that’s why she thought having a kid in the first place was a good idea, and then decided to lean in and make sure I wasn’t like whatever she had a problem with in herself.”

“You could ask,” Hsinth said. “It’s not like there aren’t communications open between Ysenys and Earth.”

“I’d rather not,” Ophelia said. “Sometimes mobilizing old scars can help, but sometimes that just irritates the fuck out of everything. I’m okay with where things are, I think. You asked about my family, and I know you have Hasila. What was it like having a sister?”

“Wonderful,” he said wistfully, thinking of his rough and tumble childhood with a sister who was barely older than him. She’d always looked out for him even though they weren’t related by blood or scale, and their parents had never treated them differently.

“Do you miss her?” Ophelia asked.

“Sometimes,” he said. “I didn’t like the fights we had when we were still living together. I guess we just grew in different directions. I’m glad we parted ways before things got to the point where I couldn’t stand to be around her now.”

He missed finding new places to trade, new places to eat, new things to trade that people in the receiving city had never even dreamt of and introducing new things to the source towns, like weaving patterns and yarns for textiles and different preservation methods for spices. Hsinth still exulted in his discovery that corusca dross, the rubbish fibers put out by Krengarian manufacture of starship shield tiles, was so popular with Kishmari storytellers for their celestial weavings. It had led to some award-winning pieces over the years.

He just hoped that if they didn’t make it out of here, Hasila would eventually get ownership of the Engsth once they were found and get something of worth out of all the scattered boxes.

“Enough about family,” he said, pulling Ophelia closer. “I’d like to do something else to get our minds off of this.”

“What did you have in mind?” she asked, snuggling deeper into his chest.

Hsinth could feel his cock hardening against her belly. She had to be feeling it too, and she wasn’t jumping away like she had once upon a time.

“You had those fungus capsules,” he said carefully. Might not be the worst way to go if they turn out to be poisonous .

“My shrooms?” The corners of her eyes softened. “I was saving them, but if we don’t ever get out of here, I guess there’s no point trying to hold on to them. And I’ve got plenty.”

Ophelia’s expression turned curious. “Did you want to try some? I don’t know what the effects would be, but it’s worth a shot.”

“Do they make you horny?” he asked as she reached over the edge of the bed for the bag.

“Not… really?” she said. “More like stuff just feels really, really good. It’s not MDMA to the point where you want to touch everything to see how it feels, but for humans, it affects how we see color and light. It makes me feel happy, less depressed, really just more in touch with my emotions. I usually feel pretty great for a couple of weeks after taking a big dose. When I’m microdosing it just puts me in a better mood most of the time. Colors might be a little brighter and I might see stuff with a little more detail too.”

“It improves your vision?” he asked, interested. “Why don’t more humans take it, then?”

“It’s not superman vision,” Ophelia laughed. “You don’t get like microscopic or telescope vision, and it does come with some hyper-reactive emotions. Like when I take big doses, I like to look at storm clouds because I see different layers and shreds of water vapor. Trees look pretty great too. I turn into a bit of a nature freak when I usually don’t like to go outside that much.”

She eyed Hsinth speculatively. “I’ll probably be a little intense with how much I’m going to be staring at you, sorry. You and all the fabrics in the room.”

Hsinth couldn’t help the flip of excitement in his belly. “How many do I need to take?”

Ophelia looked at the jar. “Each of these is like a quarter gram. When I go deep, I take like three to four grams, so… twelve for me? We can do twelve for you too; see how it affects you.”

Hsinth held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. It was a universal gesture, and it worked.

Ophelia counted his out first, then her own. Hsinth examined them closely. They looked like any of the supplemental vitamin powders he had to take for scale health during a shed period.

“What is the saying?” he asked. “Bottoms up?”

The human nodded, and he popped the handful into his mouth while Ophelia watched in disgust.

“I normally take them a few at a time,” she said as Hsinth fought to work up enough spit to swallow. “Do you normally take medication like that?”

Hsinth had more than a few issues not throwing up with the suddenly acrid taste in his mouth. “I think one of them broke open,” he managed.

Ophelia rolled her eyes. “That’s why we don’t shove twelve pills in our mouth at once,” she said. “What, was there a pretty girl you were trying to impress?”

“Mmhmm,” he said, taking the water cup she offered him. It let him finally get the pills down and washed away most of the bitter flavor. “That was gross.”

“Hence the capsules,” Ophelia said. “I know people who eat them whole, but I hate doing it. Getting them down into an easier to take form means I don’t have to feel like I’m going to throw up for the next few days. And it’s easier on the stomach.”

“What do they look like whole?” he asked.

Ophelia rolled her shoulders in a shrug. “Like any other mushroom. Roundish head, slender stem, blue bruising along the white parts. There’s a distinct odor and flavor that gets a lot stronger when they’re dehydrated. I wish I liked it, but I don’t. Feel better?”

Hsinth sucked down more water and swished it around his mouth in a desperate attempt to get his mouth back to baseline. “When does the taste go away?”

Ophelia pressed a couple of small squares into his hand. “Chew this.”

He should be wary of anything from her, but he popped them into his mouth anyway. Cold bloomed across his tongue in a pleasant rush, drowning out the earthiness of the mushroom capsules.

“Congratulations,” she said. “You get to try mushrooms and human gum in the same day.”

Hsinth chewed experimentally. What she called gum was soft, pliable, and never quite came apart beneath his teeth even after the stiff outer shell was gone.

“Do I swallow it?” he asked around it.

“Just chew it until the mushroom taste is gone.”

Ophelia finished the last of her own capsules and took some of the gum herself.

“What is it traditionally used for?” he asked.

“Lots of things. Cleans your teeth a little. Helps prevent bored eating or using substances you probably shouldn’t. Some people use it as a breath freshener.”

“A breath freshener for what?” he asked.

“Kissing,” Ophelia said. Her eyes dropped to his mouth. “You guys don’t do anything to freshen up on dates?”

“I don’t—” Hsinth said, suddenly shy. “That wasn’t really in my area of expertise.”

“Oh,” she said. Her cheeks pinked. “It does make things a little more pleasant.”

“Chewing gum and mushrooms,” Hsinth mused aloud. He watched Ophelia carefully put the mushroom jar away. “What do I need to expect from this? Do we need to turn out the lights?”

“Some people do,” Ophelia said. She snuggled back under the blankets and into his side. “Let’s leave them on for now. You might get something out of watching the rugs move. If it’s too much for you, I have some headphones and an eye mask in my bag.”

She pulled them out with one arm and laid them on the blanket next to them.

The eye mask was soft and molded for a human head and the ear protectors were black and looked like they would block most noise short of being next to the ship drives. Too bad they wouldn’t have worked for the vibrations Ophelia had complained of before.

“You really did think of everything,” Hsinth said.

Ophelia stared at him. “I have to. I have to be prepared for everything because if I’m not—if I need something and I don’t have it—things can go very, very wrong for me. It’s just better to be prepared.”

His heart hurt just a little at her words. How long had she been alone in having to support herself? How many times had Ophelia only had herself to depend on?

“I appreciate the forethought,” he said. “Should I put them on now?”

Her eyes turned thoughtful, though they kept dropping to his mouth. A slow smile curved her lips. “Maybe you should. We have some time before they kick in, so let’s get you feeling as good as possible. The better your frame of mind is when you go in, the better a time you’ll have.”

“Did you have a suggestion?” he asked, reaching for the eye mask.

Ophelia’s fingers dragged the foam mask down over his eyes, then just before the ear covers went on, he heard her whisper. “More of an idea .”

With only touch, smell, and taste left to him, Hsinth could already feel himself drifting in the warm cocoon of soft cloth. There were no clothes to take off, so when Ophelia’s fingers drifted over his chest in the lightest of touches, it was against bare flesh.

Cloth shifted against his skin as she moved on the bed. Hot human flesh settled against his own as Ophelia moved in close. There were no sounds, no words to tell him what she was thinking, but then her soft lips pressed against his neck and began to move. She was kissing up his neck towards his ear, and then abruptly changed course.

Hsinth strangled a snort. She’d forgotten about the headphones, despite putting them on him herself.

She moved back down, around the curve of his neck. Gentle teeth scraped over his skin as she kissed around to the front of his neck. Hsinth shivered at the feel of her flat little teeth against his windpipe. Ophelia was no predator, but there was a vulnerability to having her there, pressing the only natural weapons that humans had against some of the thinnest scales that covered his body.

All he could do was be vulnerable with her. Be vulnerable for her. To give himself over to her completely.

A gentle hand wrapped around the base of his cock. He was already stiff for her, but only having the feel to depend on was making the sensations so much more intense. There were no groans to hint at what she was doing, nothing to tell him except the shifting of her body atop his own as she adjusted him, angling his cock to press him against her entrance.

The soft bihosi tips softened against her wetness, but he felt her fingers press them inside one at a time until they’d both popped in and she was working on the shaft of him. At the same time, Ophelia lifted her head to press her mouth against his own, and as she eased down his shaft, she kissed him long and deep.

Her soft tongue filled his mouth as his cock filled her body. He could feel her body stretching to accommodate him, and it took every ounce of his self-control to not grab her hips and start pounding up into her. He felt himself hit the end of her and spread out, locking himself inside of her. When Ophelia rose up again, the tip of him remained lodged.

Hsinth felt the hard core of his cock impaling her as she rode him, but without vision or hearing to distract him, he could feel his bihosi cupping the convex end of her passage.

There was nothing more matched than the two of them at this moment. Her body softened and stretched and embraced his cock the way his bihosi spread to touch every part of her, filling her in a way no other cock could.

The tendrils at the end of his bihosi stroked lazily. There were no rough passages here to lock on to, but he didn’t want them. All he wanted was the smooth, wet pussy that was tight around him now. Ophelia’s tongue moved inside his mouth like she was trying to do the same thing that his cock was doing to her.

Maybe her capsules were kicking in.

Hsinth finally remembered that he had hands and that he could use them. Those hands traced up over her knees now, feeling the rounded shape of her hips before moving up to cup her breasts. He thumbed at both nipples, uncertain which had been the one he’d had to work extra to coax out, but it quickly became apparent.

Ophelia moved faster now, as though Hsinth rolling her nipples between his fingers had ignited something inside of her. Those soft lips at the front of her pussy pressed into his pelvis, all softness around his hard body. Her heels hooked under his thighs as she strove for more depth. More of his cock was forced into her, and he could feel the core of his cock pressing against the end of her now.

He would have thought it would hurt, but there was no denying that Ophelia was enjoying it.

Her breath came against his lips in harsh pants, moving in a way that he knew she was saying something.

He couldn’t hear any of it.

Sound returned in a rush as her fingers pushed the ear covers off of his head. Hsinth’s name was a harsh prayer on her lips as she jerked her hips down onto his cock over and over.

Despite the eye covers, Hsinth could see little streaks of light, whether his eyes were opened or closed.

“Ophelia,” he groaned. “I see lights.”

“It’s the shrooms,” she rasped. “Are you close?”

His cock felt like it was so hard that it might burst.

“Yes,” he snarled. His hands dropped to grip around her waist, and as colors burst against the utter black of the blindfold, he pumped his hips harder, faster.

There was no pulling out. He was locked inside of her and he intended to see this through. He would stay inside of her until her drugs took them both. She’d wanted a good start to this little adventure? She would get it.

He changed his angle until her breath stuttered, and then redoubled his efforts. Hammering into her now meant he was hitting everything, feeling everything. Her breasts bounced against his chest, and half of every inhale he took was stolen from her chest.

Still she remained locked onto him, locked around him until she shuddered on top of him and around him. Her pussy trembled and tightened around his cock as he sat up from the bed, arms wrapped around her, forcing her to take everything he had to give and more.

He could feel his bihosi expanding to the max, filling her completely and locking his seed deep inside of her as he pulsed within her. The spurts lessened, but the bihosi remained, ensuring that the two of them would stay pressed together until long after Ophelia pulled the blindfold off.

And then she did, and he was so distracted by the moving rugs and his surging emotions that by the time he realized the air was noticeably cooling, Ophelia was nearly passed out at his side.

Nothing made bihosi settle faster than an oncoming life or death situation, and he slid out of her faster than he’d wanted to.

“Let’s get the environmental suits on,” Hsinth said. The mushrooms were still affecting her to the point where she needed help sealing it, but once it was on, he had her bundled up and back in bed.

Then all he had to do was pile the Lethshin hot rocks up into a pile around them under the blankets, lay down in the bed, and wait.