We have a planet to explore

That was the moment he was trained for. He spent so many days imagining himself setting foot on a new planet. Maybe it was ambition, maybe it was loneliness, but it kept those images like little shards of light deep down in his core, almost scared of the moment they could become true. And the familiar buzz of Dissy's voice that he came to love was not making it any easier, but he knew what he was supposed to do.

"Dissy, prepare the capsule and show me the results of the preliminary analysis. We have a planet to explore"

"As you command captain"

The following hours passed by in a blur. Soil samples, atmospheric spectrograms, instructions about landing protocols and equipment preparations. He was excited, he looked at the preliminary pictures they could capture from orbit, a beach surrounded by a deep ruby see, lush black vegetation growing tall under the never setting sun. They calculated the optimal landing spot, close to the southern pole, just next to the dusk line, where the temperature would have been more manageable. Still they were expecting torrid heat, and with a gravity slightly stronger than the one on Earth, it was going to be challenging. Luckily the atmosphere composition was close enough to theirs, so the more cumbersome respirators wouldn't be necessary. Maybe it wouldn't have been the idyllic seaside holiday he had in mind.

"... remember, I can monitor all your life parameter from here, and send you real time analysis, but you will be alone. We don''t know anything about lifeforms and the ecosystem"

"Yes, don't worry, I will keep my eyes open. And if I meet some sexy alien you will be the first one to know"

He could sense that Dissy was not in the mood for his jokes.

"Thank you for all Dissy, I really appreciate your help. Now, let's go!"

The first thing he noticed was the thickness of the air. It felt it weighting on every inch of his bare skin, sticky, hot, pushing through his nose and his throat. Then there was the red. Everything around him, from the last speckle of sand on his boots, to the shimmering edge of the dusk clouds, was a vermilion shade. His hands, his once white protective suite now was shining as crimson as the disk of the sun hanging low over the horizon. In some deep way, that uniformity was comforting, relaxing. He could feel himself getting lulled by the warm embrace of that alien planet. But now he had to focus on the mission. He started placing probes in the soil, collecting samples, one heavy step at the time.

"After setting up the landing spot, move North, towards the vegetation patch, this will give us better understanding of the planet ecology"

Without questions he followed Dissy's voice, the familiar tone made him feel less alone. He left the solitary beach behind and ventured towards the forest. Thin shiny trunks were sprouting from the soil and opening in a canopy of giant membranous leaves. He could recognize some kind of vasculature, a thin pattern on their smooth surface resembling Earth vegetation. But something was different, so clearly different. Everything was black. Every leaf high over his head, every alien blade of grass on the ground. And entering that warm darkness was less like the nature he was used to and more like sliding across layers of curtains, thin bed sheets on a summer night. The sound of the waves still resonating somewhere behind him, but little by little other noises were catching his attention. Crawling, chirping, rustles.

"Joe, is everything ok?"

"Yes Dissy, I am enjoying the view, you will need to see all of this..."

He looked up, out of breath, admiring the deep red slices of sky visible through the canopy. He had never imagined anything like that. Suddenly he felt his foot sliding on the wet leaves and before he could regain balance, he tumbled on the ground, his legs not used yet at the increased gravity. Everything went black.

"... Joe, Joe, can you hear me"

The robotic voice awakened him.

"Yes, Dissy, I must have fallen..."

His head still spinning, he was trying to understand where he was, the trees flowing around him with a rhythmic motion. He closed his eyes and embraced the feeling, a delicate oscillating, the warmth of being held. Wait, his feet were not on the ground. With his senses slowly getting back, panic started to set. Where was him? Something was holding him, were those hands on his back? He couldn't see clearly in the penumbra, but first he had to get free. Before he could start fighting he found himself on the ground. He turned immediately, staring at whatever caught him.

There it was, in a clear spot in the middle of the forest. The creature was taller than him. It was standing still, waiting for his move. It was showing him it's four slender arms, moving them slightly, opening what looked like thin, delicate hands. Was it trying to appear peaceful? Carefully he stepped closer, imitating the gestures of the creature and holding his hands high. A sharp pain made him look down. Only then he realized that his suit was broken and scratched. Pieces of polymers and thorns were sticking out of his wounded skin. He hadn't realized the fall had been that bad. With slow, deliberate movements removed what was left of his protection and shirt, it would have been only a hindrance in that state. The pain was growing stronger and stronger. He had aid kits and everything necessary in the capsule, he had to go back. The creature made a step closer. He tried to step back, but it didn't seem hostile, and in his condition he would have accepted any help. His mind was racing, it had found him ****, if it had wanted to kill him it could have done it without resistance. Maybe it wanted to bring him back to his people and eat him? But it didn't fight or tried to **** him in any way since he had waken up. Now that it was closer, he could better distinguish his details. His skin was a soft red, smooth and shiny in the shadows. He could clearly distinguish the outlines of the muscles, flexing the arms, supporting the multiple pair of shoulders. On top of its body, three perfectly spherical black orbs were observing him.

It got one step closer. The curiosity was winning over the pain. He should have run straight for the beach, but could he trust his legs on those slippery grounds?

A few more centimeters. If he wanted to run this was his last chance. The fingers of the creature were reaching for his wounded arm. He held his breath. He felt it, a slight touch. The spike of pain **** him on his knees. The alien immediately retracted his hands, almost scared, then it turned around. From the ground he could see it looking for something in the vegetation. He didn't have enough energy to understand what was happening.

"...Dissy, I might need a nap. We have friends here..."

"Joe, Joe, answer me"

The creature was back, it was holding some long leaves in one hand and with its other dexterous fingers started cleaning his wounds. Once it seemed satisfied with its work, he wrapped his arm with the makeshift bandages, carefully avoiding any sudden movement that could cause him pain. It was trying to understand how his suit was mounted, attempting at removing it piece by piece, looking for other bruises to mend.

There, in the middle of the forest, on that alien planet, he found himself naked. It felt nice, a little breeze from the sea on his sweaty skin. He looked at the creature eyes, if those were eyes. It was kind of beautiful. The light from the sky reflecting over those shiny pearls of darkness. What was it thinking? He liked the other's touch. It was caressing his sore body, was it a massage, was it an exploration of that alien human body? He didn't really care. He was laying his head against that muscular torso, the ears on that crimson skin. He could ear a flow, maybe a beat, or maybe he was just listening to his own heart trough the other. He smiled. It was holding his hair, his whole body, and slowly moving his many fingers on his skin. First on his chest, following the hardness of his sternum and then down. It seemed to stop on his abs, maybe surprised buy the softness of his belly, but soon its whole attention was focused on his dick. Was this the most surprising thing for his new friend? Now two of its hands were touching his member, the long fingers caressing up and down his shaft. He could feel it getting hard under its touch. In his long years on the spaceship, this was not the kind of alien sex he had imagined. The creature was mesmerized by the transformation happening under its eyes. It slowly peeled down his foreskin and touched with curiosity his glans. Maybe he could teach him something. He slowly moved his good arm and reached for the other's hand. Holding its fingers between his, he started stroking, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. He closed his eyes, lost in the motion, enjoying that warm muscular embrace, those rapid moves. Was his friend enjoying it too? He looked up at it. With one of its free arm, it was stroking between its eyes. His now engorged skin appeared darker and moist. He let go of his own dick, letting the excited fingers of the other finding their own rhythm and raised his hand towards those shiny eyes. With a delicate movements he started mimicking the other, caressing the dark patch. It felt hot and sticky under his skin. One stroke, one caress at the time, they synchronized their motions. His hard cock throbbing under the energetic movements, the red skin pulsating in anticipation. One stroke, one caress. Another one. Pushing the skin lower, touching his balls, moving his thumb on the mysterious alien face. Feeling it getting warmer and warmer. One push, one more push, one more stroke. And then they came. The white semen, shining pink on the black leaves, and his hand, covered in liquid, dripping down on his chest. He looked up and he smiled. It would be an interesting planet to explore.