Star Missions - Book One - Part IV

Chapter 35 - Attraction

ATTRACTION

The mood in the chamber changed as Ray Soliski contemplated his probable death. It made his telepathic conversations with Teleka that much more intense. Her mouth would not move, but looking into her eyes added meaning to their unusual form of communication. He would find himself gazing into her unique eyes, almost forgetting that she was an Alien. They were having a serious conversation.

Ray rarely had a serious conversation with a beautiful woman. He was the jokester. Someone that Marcus Hawkins would say was always 'up to something.' Ray thought it would be a shame if that is how people remembered him.

He was thinking about his mortality, the end of the Strolla System. He thought of the people he admired and for whom he cared. Even the various aliens he was meeting in the Precanus system. His thoughts were getting mixed up, and he was starting to lose himself. Ray tried not to think too much; after all, he was still alive and wasn't alone anymore.

Ray could not help but have a deep and strong feeling for Teleka. Not only was she beautiful and alluring. She had a strength about her, and her thoughts had confidence. He wondered how his thoughts sounded to her inside her head.

Ray could not help but feel an attraction to her. It felt pure and more rooted than anything he had felt before. The sincere mental exchange they had shared made Ray feel they had a connection. There was nothing he could keep from her. She could read his mind, and that made him vulnerable, but also free. Ray started to wonder if others knew him as Teleka now knew him, would they like what they saw? For the first time in his life, Ray began to care what others thought about him. For better or worse, he wanted to make sure he was a man with no regrets. He did not want to die alone, or worse, be alone for the rest of his life.

She could know him completely. He began to think that Teleka, an Alien woman he had met only hours ago, knew him more thoroughly than any Terran ever will.

Teleka approached. Her eyes softened, and her tone turned more intimate. She made the statement, <You are attracted to me.>

Ray was a bit out of his element. His customary denial of any attraction to the woman was impossible. No bravado could change the fact that she knew exactly how he felt.

<You can read my mind so I cannot deny it. I have never met anyone like you before.> Ray had to admit.

He desired to know more about her and her people. What similarities do they share? Do they share Terran values? Do they have the same emotions as Terrans do, such as love and attraction? The men that are with Teleka, how would they feel about her getting involved with an alien? Do they mate? Do they marry and have families? All of these questions raced through his mind.

Teleka approached him, and the voice in his head seemed to encourage his curiosity. She made the following observations, <You want to know more about the Jamill.>

Sure, he wanted to know more about them, but he was also afraid that if he knew more about her, it would be hard for him to think of anything else. He knew that this was not the time or place to start dating an Alien.

She came even closer and held his hand, <I can help you better understand if we join.>

This time did not fully understand what she meant, but it sounded a little too seductive. He wasn't about to "join" with anyone right there, especially not in front of her guards. "Joining," the word she implied bothered him. It took him out of the beautiful self-induced trance he had been in to give him time to refocus.

He took his hand out of hers and held it up to try to slow down her advances, <hold on. We just met. I think it best we try to get out of this place before anything else develops between us.> He did not want to sound too forceful. He didn't want to scare her away. Ray was taken by her and didn't want to hurt her feelings. Any other time, he would have most happily to 'joined' with her, regardless of what it meant. But, this time, something in him triggered his response.

Teleka felt terrible that her choice of expression was not easily understood. She approached and took his hand once again. She wanted to set the record straight.

<You misunderstand. Joining minds allows you to have my thoughts as I know yours.> he noticed that she accentuated the words 'joining minds' as she placed her thoughts in his mind.

She was offering him the opportunity to share her thoughts as she could so easily read his. He could tell by the way she communicated that she offered him something that was precious and rarely given away.

Ray usually would not share his deepest feelings with a woman. He cared for them, but he cared for himself more. He was not used to being read like an open book. Ray, though, was a genuine guy, though slightly cavalier and careless in the area of the emotions. Professionally, he was top notch. Teleka liked what she saw in him, flaws and all. She knew how he thought of her, but didn't appear to mind. She seemed flattered. She offered to even the playing field. She already knew his thoughts, and she was willing to give him free access to her's.

She said in his mind, <The Jamill do not have many males like you, brave and confident, willing to die for their people. I am intrigued. Our males are cowards.>

Ray could tell that Teleka was stating a fact. She was not belittling Jamill men, but the role of males in their world was not the same as on Terra. He understood that for the Jamill, the women dominated when it came to leadership and initiative. The women were not necessarily stronger physically, but perhaps being a society of telepaths caused the women to have certain dominant qualities that the men lacked.

Ray thought of the women of Terra. He almost surprised himself with his thoughts focused on Amanda Tucker. She was also very appealing. He also wanted to know more about her. He thought of his last conversation with her. They teased each other. If his mind could smile, it did just then. He also thought of Lita and how worried she must be for him. He wanted her to know he was safe. He didn't want her to worry.

Teleka picked up on that. She and Ray were face to face again, this time holding both hands as they stare into each other's eyes. She was curious, <You are thinking of Amanda Tucker and Lita. You also have strong feelings for them.>

She may have gone too far. Ray felt guilty to have been thinking about other women when he was with Teleka. His embarrassment triggered a defensive attitude.

<Wait a minute. I would prefer that you stop reading my mind,> his first reaction pointed out her invasion of his privacy. But, then, he wanted to set the record straight, <besides, I only work with those people. That is all.> He had mixed feelings and didn't want to push her away. Maybe he wanted to establish certain boundaries.

Teleka understood that he was new to the telepathic world because she provided him with a free lesson on how they do it in her world, <When one is attracted to another, as we are, personal thoughts may be exchanged. We would think as one.> Then, with a slight sigh she turned and held her hand on his chest, and before walking away she added, <However, as you wish, I will restrict myself.>

<Thank you.> He understood that she would not pursue thoughts that he did not specifically direct toward her.

The situation had not changed; they were still prisoners on Teleka's hijacked freighter. The hijackers, the Korram, and some mutinous Jamill brought Blue-Ray to the planet Sporax. The ship was in orbit, and soon, an ancient one will use his telepathic powers to extract secret information from Ray's mind. They had to act fast. Ray wanted all the help he could get and avoid a premature death.

He focused his thoughts onto Teleka and said, <Let's just figure out how to get out of here. This is your ship. What options do we have?> And they started to formulate an escape plan.