Editor's note: this submission contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sexual situations.
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Jake Farspeed tried to remind himself why he had joined the Star Rangers as he made his way through the desolate canyons of the planet Eta Epsilon 5. He held his blaster ready, but so far he had encountered nothing more exciting than menacingly large, but entirely immobile boulders.
Jake had not joined the elite Ranger Corps to protect the worlds of the Stellar Federation or explore new alien worlds. He had joined because the white Star Ranger uniform with its green and purple piping looked really cool and caught the attention of women throughout galaxy which could open the way for exploration of more interesting and intimate alien vistas and curves.
Passing the exhaustive tests and exams to enter the Star Rangers had been easy for Jake. It had also helped that he was a bit taller than average with a steely jawline that the recruiters so liked to see.
The Star Ranger Academy had been a little more demanding, but the most difficult part for Jake had been getting used to keeping his dark hair in a short Star Ranger regulation cut. It was even harder than getting used to being required to be constantly clean shaven, not just in regards to his face, but in other areas that were much less obvious to the casual observer.
The physical training and DNA enhancements Jake had undergone at the Academy had toned his body better than any modified-grav health club, plus the enhancements had other, more personal physical benefits which Jake had really been looking forward to trying out with some of the more intriguing female cadets at the Academy.
Unfortunately, Jake had never had the chance to seek out and make contact with any curvaceous lifeforms of the female persuasion while he was under the watchful instructors at the Academy. Even more annoying, his first assignment straight out of the Academy had sent him to this barren ball of rock in the forsaken, but supposedly strategically important, Epsilon Sector, where there had been numerous, mysterious disappearances of scouts and explorers over the years.
Jake had thought things might be looking up when he met his sexy, provocative mission leader, Commander Bethany Briggs, but the tall, beautiful brunette proved to be as cordial as a fish stored in liquid nitrogen and she was far more concerned with having her first mission as a commander going off precisely by the numbers.
Which meant that Jake was stuck doing a mid-range perimeter search for any lifeforms which had somehow escaped the sensor sweeps.
It could have been worse, Jake mused. At least the planet had a comfortable if somewhat brisk climate and breathable atmosphere. But the only indigenous population appeared to be oversized rocks, and Jake would have given anything for a just a little excitement to break up the monotony.
A piercing and distinctly feminine scream broke through the air as Jake came near the entrance of a cave.
"That'll do nicely," Jake conceded and charged into the dark opening, his blaster before him.
"GAR! Report to base contact of possible civilian in need of rescue!" Jake exclaimed as he dove dramatically the cave, giving the order to the portable General-Automated-Remote computer system incorporated into his uniform's belt.
"Unable to establish base contact," responded the GAR's synthesized voice as Jake came up in a kneeling pose, swinging his blaster around as he tried to look everywhere in the cave at once.
"Why the hell not?" demanded Jake while keeping his gun ready for any potential threats even though he had only seen blank, rocky walls in the cave so far.
"Local ionization of planet's atmosphere interfering with com signals," the GAR informed Jake.
"Eat me!" groused Jake. The phrase was one his favorite curses from his class in early Terran history, although none of his instructors or even the computer databases had been able to tell him exactly what those particular words had meant.
The curse felt appropriate in his present situation. Commander Briggs would certainly not deviate a millimeter from standard Star Ranger procedures, which meant she would wait the full standard hour after Jake had last checked in before she would send out any search parties. Gritting his teeth, Jake realized he was going to have to handle whatever he found in the cave with little chance of backup or rescue if things went wrong.
The cavern was very large and apparently empty of any hideous space monsters that might deserve blasting. The interior was well lit once Jake's eyes adjusted from the outside, various openings near the ceiling let in light and also provided plenty of fresh air. The grayish stone walls rose up to the high roof of the cave, but Jake could not clearly see the top of the cavern because he suddenly realized there were wispy strands of a vast pale web stretching all across the upper part of the cavern.
"Star Ranger Scouting Rule #34 - 'Giant webs are never a good thing'," Jake muttered, quoting from the Academy's Official Exploration manual. Then he noticed something a little farther back in the cavern, and Jake cautiously move deeper into the cave, acutely aware of the menacing web above.
Near the middle of the web and suspended high above the cavern floor was an unconscious, blue-skinned alien woman with dark crimson hair. She was dressed in a sort of flowing blue robe or gown that was loose in some places while being tight enough in others to outline the alluring, full curves of her body. Jake guessed she was somewhat older than him, perhaps ten years or so in standard human terms, but Jake was only in his twenties and the woman's breathtaking loveliness was the kind that was only enhanced by her maturity.
"Oh ThankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouThankyou," Jake murmured to himself in quiet jubilation. Not only would he get to rescue a fabulous alien babe, but Commander Briggs would certainly give him a commendation for making her first command more than just a simple survey mission.
The blue-skinned woman was stretched out and unmoving in the strands of the web, the eyes in her lovely, peaceful face were closed and her lush red lips slightly parted. Jake could tell by the rise of her ample chest that she was still breathing, and he did not think he should try to calling out to her since that might alert whatever repulsive spider-creature had made the web.
He wondered how the woman had gotten caught so high up in the giant web and then he saw that there was a rock outcropping a little bit above with an obvious path leading up to it.
Carefully, Jake went to the steeply sloping wall and started toward the outcropping, clambering up the sandy stones while his gray eyes searching the cavern for any signs of the sinister web's owner making an unannounced appearance.
Jake could see the woman a little more clearly the higher he hiked up. Even asleep, she was truly stunning with a captivating face and the sort of figure which invited all sorts of imaginations of what it might look like underneath her long, flowing garment. The woman's non-human coloring was nothing unusual to Jake - many humanoid species in the Stellar Federation looked much the same as she did, many races throughout the galaxy often looked almost exactly like humans with countless variations. The woman's bluish skin and hair that was a little too crimson for a human only embellished her exotic allure.
Jake sincerely trusted that appearances were not the only thing the woman might have in common with Terrans like himself, including certain suggestions Jake might bring up for ways of expressing her gratitude for being rescued if she was so inclined.
The outcropping above the unconscious woman was covered in white sand and slanted downward. Jake decided he would try to make his way out onto it and attach a safety line to lower himself down so he could free the woman from the web with a minimum amount of noise.
The first step Jake placed on the slanted outcropping made the sand start to run under his boot. A sudden cascade started and the next thing Jake knew his feet were slipping underneath him and he was heading straight down the outcropping like a slide.
"Eat me!!" Jake shouted, flailing his arms to keep his balance even as he went over the edge, straight down toward the web. "Jet boots on!!" he ordered the instant before he landed into the strands of the web.
There was a jarring blast from the soles of his boots and a low roar as micro-fusion jets ignited and stopped Jake just inches from the gossamer web.
"Jet boots activated," the GAR unit informed him pointlessly, but Jake was already scanning the cavern again. The noisy, plasma flame-expelling boosters had ruined his attempt at stealth and Jake prepared himself to meet exactly whatever grotesque space monster had made the web.
Jake heard a rustle behind him and spun around, his blaster leveled. It was the blue-skinned woman, she was awake now, sitting up in the web and staring at Jake with large eyes that were completely purple-colored without any white to them. She was even more stunning now that she was conscious, but she did not have any of the surprise or fear or relief Jake had expected to see in her expression. Instead she was gazing at Jake with a slightly annoyed frown on her lush lips.
"It's all right, ma'am!" Jake informed her in Galacti-Speak, his eyes glancing around for the monster he still expected to show up at any minute. "I'm with the Space Rangers and I'm here to rescue you!"