Everyone was shocked seeing Lisa standing on the stone platform.  The girl ran down a short flight of steps to Laura and the two women hugged each other.  They began chattering away like magpies.

"What is this?  A convention of nude women?" Holmes shouted.  Gallieni merely smiled.

Indeed, it did appear to be a convention of apes and naked ladies.  Lisa was pretty much nude.  She was wearing a gold chain about her hips.  Hanging from the chain, front and rear, were two pieces of sheer white silk, about six inches wide, and coming to mid-thigh.  Her womanhood was completely open.  She had sandals on her feet.  Golden nipple clamps in the shape of flowers were attached and connected by a chain.

The two girls hugged once more, and then separated.  Lisa looked at the landing party and smiled.  And then she spoke.

"I have so much to show you!  It appears we badly underestimated the apes, assuming that they were just primitive beasts.  They are intelligent, and live together in groups of pods.  A pod can be up to one hundred apes.  Each pod is directed by a central intelligence, which," she giggled here, "Commander Hansen met on the galleon."

Laura merely blushed.

"Well, now, where do we go from here?" asked Vice Chancellor Gallieni.

"First things first," said Lisa, trying to look as calm as possible in her current state of dress.  Gallieni had noticed that the strips of silk covered nothing; they were merely decoration.  "The crew, all but for a few, are safe.  They are sleeping.  See that pyramid over there?  That is where the crew of the galleon, as well as most of the landing party, are kept.  The can be revived.  The apes have the antidote for the drug, or it will wear off.  You can simply decide how you want to handle it.  Now, follow me."

Laura led the party across the clearing into a large, rectangular temple.  On the walls were brightly colored murals, depicting the history of the apes.  The first few showed the apes forming into small communities.  The next few showed the apes worshipping the octopus entity near the edge of a pond.  As the group continued their slow walk around the temple, they saw the octopus entities teaching the apes.  First the apes learned language, how to write, and then how to build.  There was a set of murals showing the apes building and operating what appeared to be very technical equipment.  The final sets of murals showed both the apes and the octopi mating with what appeared to be human women.  The women seemed to be enjoying it.

"There you have the ape history in a nutshell," said Lisa.  "It would seem the octopi have visited Earth in the past.  I would venture that our archeologists and language specialists will have many years work here.  This may explain some of the ancient stories of demon rape, as well as alien abduction."

"I would believe so," said Gallieni.

As the party left the temple, one of the apes put a furry hand between Lisa's legs and began to play.  Lisa blushed and giggled, then pushed his hand away.  "Not now!" she commanded, but her command was softly spoken.

Lisa led the party on a path toward the center of the community.  Holmes noticed that the path seemed to be made of some sort of springy turf, which was easy on the feet.  The girl pointed to a row of four pyramids.

"Those pyramids," Lisa explained, "house communications gear, computers, medical offices, and scientific research.  There communications are light years ahead of what we have.  I have seen it.  I suspect their computers are as well.  The apes run everything, all directed by the octopi as their guiding intelligence.  There are no living quarters here.  These communities, and there are about fifty on the planet, are for administration and science only.  The apes live in the forests."

"Where do the octopi live?" asked Laura.

"There are large pools, some salt, some freshwater, along the edges of the communities.  The octopi live there.  They can come ashore and stay on dry land for extended periods, but must return to water."  Here Lisa giggled some more.  "You already met one of the octopi, Laura."

"What's the power supply?" asked Holmes.

"I really don't know," answered Lisa.  "Don't forget, I haven't been here that long.  I suspect it is located away from the administration centers in fairly secure areas of the planet.  Now follow me."

Lisa led the party to what appeared to be another temple.  Inside, however, it was set up to be living quarters.  The apes had put food and water out for the humans.  There was a nice-sized pool in the center of the temple, and bobbing on the surface was one of the octopi.

"Take some refreshment," said Lisa.  "Relax a bit, and then we will continue."

The party took some food and water, and sat at a long table.  Laura, however, was drawn to the pool.  Something was pulling her toward it.  She grabbed a goblet of water and approached.  The octopus spoke to her, but she did not hear it.  She felt its thoughts inside of her brain.  It was telepathy.

"I find you wonderfully sexed," said the octopus.  "I loved you on the ship.  You are beautiful.  Please remove the remainder of your clothing so I may look at you."

The landing party watched, amazed, as Laura took off her boots and then her panties.  She stood completely nude in front of the creature.

"You are safe here.  We, our race here on Triskellion, wishes to establish relations with humans.  You and Lisa will remain here, if you so choose, and maintain contact with other humans.  Lisa has already chosen to be a lover to the apes.  You need not worry; she cannot get pregnant.  I would like you, Laura, to remain here and be a lover to us.  You, however, can get pregnant.  We, the superior intelligence, will choose when you will bear our children.  We live for millennia, so your pregnancies will be far and few between.  In between pregnancies, we will pleasure you.  You have already had a mild taste of the pleasure we can give a woman.  But the choice must be yours.  Stay or leave as you please."

Laura simply smiled and nodded "Yes."

Vice Chancellor Gallieni watched the silent communication between Laura and the octopus.  Lisa had fended off some apes that wished to have sex with her, and was quietly chatting with Holmes.  Gallieni decided that the time was ripe.  He stood up and approached the octopus and spoke in a loud voice.

"I am Vice Chancellor Gallieni.  I am empowered to act as the legal and political representative for humans.  I wish to remain here an negotiate with you, hopefully forming an agreement as to technology sharing and our exploration of the planet."

Lisa was lying back quietly on a cushion.  Holmes could see that she was agitated and having some difficulty paying attention to what was happening.  She had finally given in to two of the apes.  One had removed her nipple clamps and was playing with her breasts.  The other had pushed the flimsy silk aside and was teasing her mound, occasionally inserting a finger and wiggling it.

The octopus turned in the pool and looked at the Vice Chancellor.  It spoke, but its voice did not come from a mouth anywhere on its "head."  Instead, the voice came from some speakers arranged around the room.  The voice was masculine, strong, and clear.

"That is unacceptable, Vice Chancellor.  You and Wing Commander Holmes will return to your home planet.  We will upload, to your ship's computers, the equipment and personnel you will bring with you when you return.  The girls will meet you at the landing post when you return.  We will guide your exploration and discovery.  The girls have chosen to remain here.  These terms are non-negotiable."

"Now, wait a minute!" yelled Holmes.

"Be still, Commander," chided Gallieni.  "They could crush us in an instant if they so chose.  They took command of one of our galleons from the surface.  We must listen to what they say and trust them.  Look at the women.  They have not harmed them, and the crews are, for the most part, safe.  They could have killed at any time they wanted."

Holmes acknowledged this fact grudgingly, and remained silent.  He looked at the smiling and nude Laura now sitting at the edge of the pool, and at Lisa, who was approaching an orgasm.  The ape had two fingers in her vagina and one in her anus, and was working her with a gentle thrusting.  

"You have noticed the ladies," said the octopus.  "It is in our best interest to provide them with exquisite pleasure, as often as they require it.  They will become quite sexual with us.  We feed off of that energy.  Now, I think something different is in order.  Vice Chancellor Gallieni, you will return to your home planet and make arrangements.  We will provide you with some samples of our technology.  The crew will leave here and travel with you.  Wing Commander Holmes will remain here, and we will begin his education on our technology.  I think we will begin with power supplies.  We do wish to establish good terms with humans.

"Agreed," said Gallieni, making a slight bow and looking at Holmes, who was grinning like a child with a new toy.  Gallieni, who had never really trusted instinct, was about to trust it now.  Something told him that all was going to work out for the benefit of both races.

Everyone but Lisa settled in to finish off his or her food and water.  Their meal was eaten, and the troopers and the commanders spoke in quiet but happy tones.  Laura, still nude, joined them at the table.  Gallieni informed the troopers that they would be made members of the party returning to Triskellion, but he was not quite sure what their role would be.  The discussion continued, interrupted only by Lisa's noisy and giggly orgasm.  She looked at the landing party, smiling and blushing.  The ape kept his fingers inside of her for a few minutes, then removed them.  She stood up, adjusted her silk, and the ape smacked her on the ass and replaced the nipple clamps, causing her to gasp audibly.  She approached the table, still blushing, but not ashamed.

"I will guide you back to the landing base.  Laura is going to stay here and get her wardrobe.  I guess you could call it a wardrobe," she said.

The party finished its meal and left, heading back to the landing post to board the galleons.  It was going to be a very interesting experience.
