Traxis was a lush, tropical planet whose inhabitants managed to weave stunning architecture unto its surface. From orbit, the planet favored a ball of swirling, pink cotton candy, but this was all in the atmosphere as the planet itself was very green. Rafian VCA stepped off of a transport vessel that had brought him to the village of Coteb—a tourist’s hangout that was one of the main entry points for outsiders. Coteb was a tiny dot of civilization in a country savage and untamed. Adventurous visitors, and foolhardy tourists that ventured from the perimeter of the city, met with death at the jaws of any number of beasts and so visiting Traxis was not recommended by any of the travel boards.

Rafian VCA was not on Traxis for leisure this day, even though he had not formally taken a break from his duty in over a year. He looked around at his surroundings and noticed that there were many offworlders in the dock and it made him feel better knowing that he wouldn’t stick out. The port served a dual purpose in taking ships from the water as well as from the air. The buildings held a similar look to the early days of Vestalia when everything was made of stone and glass. The rooftops of the Traxis homes were orbs with circular windows on all sides. Below these orbs were cylindrical towers that served as the main living areas. It all looked interesting to Rafian as the buildings seemed as much a part of the jungle as the trees—their earth tone motif helping to complete the illusion.

As he began his ascent into the village via a cobbled pathway bordered by buildings, Rafian took notice of the features of the Traxis people. They were humanoid, but pale with dark circles around their eyes like Vestalians looked when they were lacking sleep. Their hair, beautiful and varied when revealed was kept hidden within hoods and shawls, and their bodies were wrapped in robes that were adorned with exotic jewelry from head to toe. The women wore a form of mascara that turned their dark eye area into a shade of color to match their garb. The men held sneers and unfriendly glances while the women smiled, looking on—sometimes staring. Rafian found them to be both beautiful and irresistible, their lips being full and painted in a way to contrast their eyes. They were friendly to outsiders—despite the men’s cold looks—and he found himself feeling welcome.

As he marched on admiring the beauty and taking in the atmosphere of the city, a thief ran by him and attempted to cut the underside of his pocket to snatch whatever he gleaned would fall from it. Rafian had felt him approaching from the time he began his ascent, so when the man made his move, Rafian side-stepped effortlessly out of the way whilst tripping him with a leg before planting him on his back.

“Get up and run before I kill you.” He said in a very calm voice as he held what appeared to be a teenage Traxian down on the ground. The boy nodded quickly and Rafian released him, watching him take off into the crowd. The suns were beaming down on the village and the colors of mahogany, aquamarine, and pearl, brought the architecture to life, supplemented by the beautiful garments and jewelry that was being sold by the vendors beneath each building.

“Offworlder, come inside here.” A sandaled, beauty of a Traxian announced to Rafian as he passed by one of the larger buildings in the city.

“What is this place?” Rafian asked, as he looked around at the tower which seemed to hold multiple levels, several bordered gardens, and an abundance of beautiful women.

“Guess.” The woman said as she walked over to him and interlocked her slender arm into his.

“Are you a Vestalian military man?”

“I guess you can say I am, and what’s your name ceree?”

“Oh! You speak Talak? Zen f’t yun ar ceree chon?”

“No, no, no. I’m sorry, I am not yet fluent. In my school I learned some Talak, but only nasic words like hello, goodbye, and ceree, which I understand to mean beautiful. Am I right?”

“You know more than you let on soldier. I can tell by the way you pronounce it, either you have spent a lot of time with another ceree woman of trax…” Then she looked into his eyes and smiled widely, as if his face revealed more than he was letting on. “Or…perhaps…several, as you do know our tongue. What is your name?”

“My name is Rafian, but my friends call me Raf.”

“Okay Raf, I will be your escort into the home of Lavys, the palace of pleasure.”

“Do I have the option of saying no to this invitation ceree. And what is YOUR name?”

“I am Jinay, and yes you do have an option, but I see how you look at me and I know you won’t break my heart, will you now? Come inside, buy me a few drinks, and I’ll teach you some of our native tongue.”

“I can never turn down exotic drinks and a chance at learning.”

With that, Jinay took Rafian inside of the large tower where it opened up to reveal a layout that very much looked like that of a palace. There were large pools of water with women and men happily swimming and bathing within them. On the balconies of the four floors that he could see, there were more beautiful women and handsome men talking, kissing, and a number of other things that let Rafian know that privacy was not needed here. Jinay removed the shawl from her head and stepped out of her sandals unto the shiny, marble floor. Her hair was thick, black and adorned with golden clips, and her feet were pedicured and tiny with thin, golden chains running between her toes up to an ankle bracelet that rested below her athletic legs.

“Do you like what you see?” She said quietly to him as she unwrapped her hair and removed the clips.

“I like where this is going.” He said as she took his hand and walked him over to one of the many bars where they were given tall drinks in fancy glasses. He realized that she had made herself look more human by wearing a flesh-colored mascara that was offset by hints of blue around her eyes. He could not stop looking at her and she took advantage of this by rewarding his glances with hints of an accepting smile.

“This is Tor-cha, our native, fermented drink. You want to take your time drinking it, though it is very good. Vestalians do not do well with the alcohol content, and I don’t want you to pass out before we consummate our unrae.”

“What does unrae mean?”

“Don’t be alarmed but it translates to short marriage in the basic tongue. It is a concept conveyed more than a practical thing applied you see. While you are with me, paying for my time, I am your temporary wife. It is what makes sense in the eyes of the maker, do you understand?”

“Of course ceree.” Rafian said, and then he reached in behind Jinay’s thick crop of hair and touched her neck gently, then began to kiss her gently as if she was really his wife, and he was happy to be home.

~*~*~*~

By the time the suns had descended below the horizon and the lights of the village were turned on, Rafian and Jinay had consummated their unrae several times over and she laid in his arms peacefully on top of a circular cot—bordered by tall curtains—that sat in the center of an apartment on the fourth floor of the brothel. Though Rafian found his mind drifting to his responsibilities back home on Vestalia, he did not feel any sort of guilt as he lay with Jinay’s supple body snuggled up against his.

“You are going to get me in trouble.” She said after what seemed like hours of silence.

“I have money ceree, who would you be in trouble with?”

“Myself… you were very gentle and loving, I have never met a soldier who does it the way you do and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

This made Rafian smile, not because of ego or pride in hearing that he blew Jinay’s mind but due to her mistaking his intent. In reality it was just how he made love, he disliked speedy sessions, or rough, non-initmate encounters. So when it came to sex he took his time and savored the moments when he was with a woman. Rafian had become accustomed to women misunderstanding his intentions during flings but Jinay was a prostitute that traded sex for money, so to have her acting like all of the other women that he had been with made him smile at the irony.

“So, I take it you enjoyed it then? That makes me happy. See where I come from we are taught that the man’s pleasure comes completely from that of his companion. I thought that much of your moans were an act that you had practiced over time, but if they were genuine then I’m happy. I enjoyed you too.”

Jinay smiled and caressed his chest as they lay under the large glass opening in the ceiling watching strange flying creatures fly by under the moonlight.

“What is your business here Rafian?”

“I am after an artifact that is locked away in one of the caves near your village.”

“No-one that goes outside of the walls lives. Though this may be important to you, this… how you say… ar-tifac? It may cost you your life once you are sniffed out and hunted by a drac wolf, a teryne, or a corb. Don’t throw your life away, you are a good man.”

“Not as good as you think lovely Jinay and I must get going.”

As he got up to pull on his clothes—a tousled black pilot’s jumpsuit with terrain boots—Jinay implored him to stay the night but Rafian would be lying if he said he felt safe there. Pressing some money into her palms—three times the amount she was expecting for their time—Rafian kissed her longingly on her lips and then exited the room. He had told Jinay a lie since the real reason he was on Traxis involved the man that ran her place of employ.