My eyes opened, and I regained consciousness. I was lying flat on my back and try as I might, I couldn't move a muscle. Panic set in as I tried to recall how I had ended up like this. My last conscious thought was of a hellish flash of light which had enveloped the space station and then… Nothing!

I looked above me and was confronted by an indigo sky in which myriad stars glittered. They formed constellations that were utterly foreign to my senses.

'Do not be afraid. Soon the powers will come to explain.'

Those thoughts came to my mind though I could detect no visible presence around me. The space I was in was eerily silent, and I couldn't detect any sound or movement. Even the air around me was as still as in a crypt.

The stars above slowly faded as a blood-red sun rose in the sky on the horizon. I saw that I was inside a glass bubble that surrounded the space I was in.

Ethereal shapes began to materialize around me. Humanoid but taller than men. Shaped like men, however, without mouths or ears. The rest was not clear to me as they were below my line of sight due to the way I was lying on the table.

'Don't be afraid; we mean you no harm.'

"Who are you? Where am I?"

'Do not make noise. We can hear your thoughts. Your sounds are meaningless to us and cause disturbances that prevent us from thinking. Just remain calm, and we will try to explain.

'We have no idea how you appeared on our planet. We discovered your conveyance in the desert close to here about 500 years ago. When we went to investigate, we discovered four such as yourself. The other three were destroyed beyond our skills to fix. We brought you in and restored your form to its original shape. Fortunately, all major parts were intact. So over the years, we rebuilt the broken parts and even improved over the original.'

"The others are dead," I was filled with intense sadness at the thought of my fellow astronauts who were no longer. Even the beautiful Natasha was no longer. Then it struck me, "Improved? How?"

'Please do not make noise. We can hear your thoughts. Yes, we modified some parts. You will no longer get sick, nor will you discorporate if you do not suffer injury unless you decide to end your existence.'

"But who are you?" I asked in my mind.

'We are, in fact, your descendants. When the system we were in at the time seemed to be in danger of destroying itself through war, epidemics and the rise of vain dictatorial rulers who wanted to conquer those around them, our ancestors were part of a group of superior individuals who had been sent out to colonize the fourth planet of the solar system. Our ancestors made the decision to reach out to the stars. Using the resources they had, they built a ship which carried us to this planet. The voyage took centuries while our ancestors were in cold sleep. Over those centuries, our bodies evolved, and for some reason, we became telepathic.'

"But how did I get here?"

'We think that in the final confrontation that took place, your conveyance, which we believe was called a space station, was projected into a time warp which brought you to us. Now we have to decide what to do with you.

'We have the means to send you back. However, that would be doing you a disservice as the world you knew no longer exists. In any case, the whole system was destroyed a few years after, or maybe during the cataclysm that projected you to this place. On the other hand, keeping you here poses an enormous danger to us. You are an atavism with a deep-seated desire to fight and conquer, which poses an inherent risk for us.'

My mind focused on the part stating that Earth no longer existed. Gone were the green hills of Earth, the oceans and the people I had devoted myself to serving. Tears came to my eyes and a sense of futility at my own existence.

'You no longer have a place to go back to. Being sad at your loss does you honor. Here is what we have decided. You can serve a useful purpose here. The contents of your mind will undoubtedly prove of interest to our people as we have very few memories of our planet of origin left to us. We have rumors and legends and few enough of those. We also no longer have the skills that you possess in manipulating artifacts. We now resort to only managing energy. You cannot communicate with us unless you are within a very short distance from us. So it has been decided to establish a dome for you separate from ours where you can have privacy. All we ask is that you allow us some time with you each cycle to enable you to communicate with us.

'Also, we are going to provide one of our culls to provide you with companionship.'

"What is a cull?"

'We no longer breed as you did. Details are not pertinent to your knowledge.'

I could almost feel him blush as he said that.

'It happens on rare occasions that the result of our breeding is a recessive. These recessives are much closer to you than we are. They can't transmit thoughts though they can receive them. Now you will be led to your habitat, and we will communicate later.'

"What's your name?" I asked.

'It does not matter as when you communicate with one of us you communicate with all of us.'

The platform I was on started moving and exited the dome I was in and proceeded down a glassed tunnel for some time until it entered a smaller dome. This dome was about the size of half a football field. To one side of the dome was what remained of the space station. Also, there were assorted artifacts placed in various locations. I recognized tables and chairs, a bed and other assorted pieces of furniture.

Seated on what looked like a bed was a stunning young woman. She looked at me with as much curiosity as I looked at her. By any standards, she was gorgeous. Her long auburn ponytail framed an elfin face with bright luminous eyes. She was draped in a diaphanous covering which hid her other charms while hinting at them.

I suddenly realized that I was totally naked. After I don't know how many eons without the sight or touch of a woman, my gallant reflex manifested itself in the mother of all erections as I looked at her.

Her mouth opened, and the blood-curdling shriek she emitted was enough to quell any sexual thoughts I might have had. I stood there stunned, wondering what to do when my mind was again in contact with one of the other ethereal beings.

'She is asking that you get out of her mind. She can receive your thoughts though you can't receive hers. We suspected as much. You will have to be gentle with her.'

I turned and went to the space station. When I entered, it was evident that it had been cleaned up as all that was not destroyed was had been restored. I went to my locker, donned a jumpsuit and returned outside.

I calmed my thoughts while looking at the young woman. "I apologize. You are lovely, and I just did not expect that you would be a woman. I mean you no harm. What are you called? My name is Mike."

She looked at me and smiled. She then pointed at me and said, "Mike?"

"Yes!"

"You are called what?"

She shrugged, and I could tell she had no concept of having a name.

"Okay, I will call you Keva."

She looked at me wide-eyed, pointed to herself, and uttered, "Keva?"

"Yes. You are Keva. Keva means beautiful."

"Beautiful?"

I tried to think of how to convey beautiful in my mind. She suddenly started to smile for the first time. Her face took on a magical look, and she said, "Me beautiful?" This was the first time she had strung two words together. I determined at that point that my first task would be to teach her to speak.

Keva seemed to have an eidetic memory. Soon we were able to speak in simple terms. Our days were divided into segments. In the mornings, we had language lessons. While in the afternoons, one of the ethereal entities would come, and we would talk of my previous life. I could not identify if it was always the same one who came. I resorted for lack of better to call him Joey. It was easier than talking to an unnamed entity. They seemed amused by this.

These conversations also gave me useful knowledge of the planet I was marooned on. I discovered that the delicious fruits, vegetables and nuts we were fed were grown in the Polar Regions. The climate there was different from the desert landscape, which seemed from where I was located to stretch forever. They were produced by culls which had been settled there. There the soil was arable, and there were even lakes and rivers.

After supper, I retired to the space station to sleep while Keva slept on the bed outside. I did not want her to panic again. My sleep was fitful as I often fell asleep thinking of her, and my dreams often were about her and of making love to her. I often relieved the sexual tension I felt by stroking my cock when I woke up and thus got a measure of relief.

Over time I noticed subtle changes in Keva. Often it seemed that I could read her thoughts before she spoke to me. I mentioned it to Joey, and he told me that he was not sure but would like to try an experiment. Up to that point, Keva had only been able to read my thoughts when we were near.

He asked me to enter the space station and call for Keva without speaking. Just to project my thought. When I did so, Keva stood and came to the station and asked me why I had summoned her.

"I have not summoned you," I said.

"But I heard you call me."

Joey entered the station and explained to Keva our ruse. She blushed and admitted she could hear my thoughts all the time.

"Are you in my mind all the time?" I asked.

She nodded her head. "Yes, when I am awake, I can hear you."

Now it was my turn to blush, wondering if she heard my morning masturbatory thoughts.

I realized that I seemed to always be aware of Keva's wishes and fulfill them without her ever making any requests.

"Keva, you must stay out of my mind unless I am close to you."

"But why?"

"A man sometimes needs his privacy."

She pouted and said, "Mike, I'm sorry I did not know I was doing anything wrong."

"It's okay, Keva, I know you meant no harm."

'Mike, I would like to try an experiment with your permission. That is if you are willing? I will be using an old technique which has come down to us through the ages.'

"Sure, Joey. What would you like me to do?"

'Just sit there for a minute. Keva, go outside. Now Mike, try to clear your mind of all thought. Take some deep breaths and relax. Imagine a wave of relaxation which starts at the top of your head and washes down your body, removing all tension.

'Breathe in through your nose and bring that breath down as deep as you can hold it there for a few seconds. Now let that breath out through your mouth. Imagine it carrying all your tension and frustrations out of your body. Repeat that for a few minutes.

'Now imagine that with each breath you start relaxing each muscle group starting at your head and washing down your body. Down your neck, relaxing your face's muscles, flowing over your shoulders and down your arms' length. As you relax your fingers, you might even feel your fingers tingle. Let all thought and tension escape. Just relax and let all your cares and worries wash out of your body. Now relax your torso. Keep taking those deep, slow breaths, let the relaxation wash down your back, your chest relaxing the muscles around your heart. Now your hips and legs all the way down to your feet. Feel the tingle in your feet as you let the last of your tensions escape your body.

'Now imagine you are resting in a tranquil place and visualize your ideal outcome.

I felt myself enter into an altered state. I visualized Keva and me living together by the side of a river. I imagined myself giving her a kiss.

'Mike, at the count of three, come back from your trip. One, two, three.'

I slowly and groggily came to consciousness. Keva came to the door. "Mike, you read my mind. I did not think that was possible."

I could almost feel Joey smile as he bade us goodbye and told me to keep practicing the exercise at least once a day.

Keva came to sit next to me. "Were those your thoughts I was reading?" I asked.

"Yes, Mike, they were."

I just stared at her before putting my arms around her and actually touching her for the first time.

She turned her face to mine and looked at me wide-eyed. "Mike, I am afraid. I have never touched or been touched before. What if I don't please you? I don't know what to do. I only know what I have seen in your mind."

"What you saw in my mind was my desire for you. If you allow me, I will teach you. You also will be teaching me what you like and enjoy."

"I think I would like that," she said, smiling at me.

I placed my hand under her chin and raised her mouth to where I could lower my mouth to hers. Our lips met hungrily, and it was as if a bolt of lightning hit me suddenly. I could fully read her mind. I could feel all her emotions as they reflected my own.

Her tongue slipped softly and warmly into my mouth as our souls seemed to become one. The expression soul mates took on reality, such as I had never experienced. That trite expression I had always scoffed at became a reality. When we finally broke the kiss, Keva was gasping and faint. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Mike, your mind was fully open to mine. I could see all your life in front of me." She started sobbing.

"Why are you crying?"

"You have lost so much. So many people are no longer in your life and will never be. Your beautiful world is no more. You are stuck on this forsaken planet. It's so sad."

"Keva, it is sad. However, now I have found you."

"Yes, but how can I replace all that you lost?"

"You can't. What you can do is give me more than I ever had."

"I can! How?"

"By letting me love you and take care of you."

"Mike, I don't think I understand what love is?"

"Love is when the happiness of another person is so important to your own happiness that you will do all in your power to make that person happy."

"Oh! That's the way I feel about you. When I first met you, you scared me. As I started to see in your mind, I discovered what a good person you are, and it was then I started to care for you very deeply. Mike, I love you."

"Keva, caring very deeply is but a first step towards love. I am the first being you have ever been close to. You can't be sure that what you are feeling is love."

"I'm sure, and when you can read my mind better, you will know. Now I want you to kiss me again."

I leaned down to kiss her, and she struggled in my arms. "Wait, not yet," she said and proceeded to remove her tunic. This was the first time I saw her naked. Breathtaking did not do her justice.

I gazed in awe at her perfectly proportioned body. Her breasts were small and perfectly balanced. Her areolas were capped by elongated pink nipples, just begging to be kissed and sucked and teased. A narrow waist flared out to voluptuous hips and a delicate pussy which, to my surprise, was totally hairless. Standing there on her long legs, which would have been the envy of any runway model, she posed for me.

"Do you still like me? Do I meet your approval?"

"You do not need to answer. I can read your mind," she giggled. That was another first for her in my presence.

"Now, it is your turn. Take off your clothes for me. I want to feel you against my skin when we kiss."

I stood and stripped out of my tunic. As I let it slide the length of my legs, my cock was revealed.

"Do you remember the first time I saw you?"

"Yes, it is a moment that is graven in my mind indelibly."

"I was so scared because you were different. It somehow seemed threatening."

"And now does it seem threatening?"

"A little. I understand how it is used, and I am afraid it might hurt me as well as I fear not being able to please you."

"Put those thoughts out of your mind, Keva. First, it is up to me to please you. I would derive pleasure in doing so. A woman who offers her body to a man always pleases him. Now enough talk and come and give me that kiss you offered me."

She came over and snuggled her curvy backside into my lap as my erection struggled not to impale her. The feeling of instantaneous rapport grew as our skins touched. It was as if I became one with her, and I sensed each emotion she felt. The hesitation, as well as the anticipation, were manifest. We kissed as I stroked her long hair and ran my hands over her perfect skin.

The kiss extended into eternity, and finally, we had to...