Starlight Gleaming

A lot of characters to keep track of and a lot to update. Health issues continue to intrude, but I'm still standing. Onward!

A few have complained about some of the names used in this series, saying they are sometimes a mouthful. True enough, and part of the difficulty lies in the fact that some of the letter combinations are ones we don't encounter with English. Take Gaelic, for instance. You have perfectly good letters like "m" and "h" and they sound as written, but put them together thus "mh" and it's pronounced "vee" or "wuh," depending on the adjacent vowels. Say what? Yeah, it's a thing, and far from the only one. Try reading some Welsh (Kymru) and have fun with that. So, don't hate on me. I try to use authentic words whenever I can - and bear in mind these are pillaged from the "modern" equivalents - but I freely admit to making liberal use of my imagination, trying to make it sound authentic. The primary goal is to entertain, so let's try to stick with the program here shall we? (Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!). Moving along...

Oral traditions can tell us a lot about the ancient immigrants who arrived in the Americas, but there's a lot we just don't know. For example, we do have good recent evidence that Polynesian explorers made contact with South American tribes in Columbia and Equador over a thousand years ago, and half a millennia before Columbus stumbled into the New World on his quest to reach India and the Spice Islands; the Polynesians not only traded, but also left discernable genetic legacies in their descendants in strands of DNA that match Polynesians and are dissimilar to their Native neighbors. So instead of "Whew, we made it to land, now let's see if we can make it back," at least for a while it was more like Norfolk, Virginia, when the fleet arrived, and the fleet came into port frequently if not regularly. And came and came and came. Pun most definitely intended, bruh!

Sometimes I do use the English equivalents for names; I tend to do that for characters from North American tribes, but not always. Here is a short pronunciation guide for the main characters. Hope it helps.

Ranji Kandikan = RAN-gee KAN-dee-kan ("kan" is said with a flatter sound, like "ran" is said in west coast American English); age 23, our protagonist, nobleman, Commander, Imperial Air Service, CO of 602 Air Security regiment

Janetta Tlacotli = jah-NET-tah tlah-COAT-lee; age 23, noblewoman, Captain, Imperial Air Service, interceptor pilot, Ranji's mistress and head of his House

Izel of Ocotépan = ee-ZEL uhv oh-koh-TAY-pan; age 38, noblewoman, Ranji's wife, pregnant

Zinja Ba'lanchicotl = ZIN-jah bah (aspirated pause) lanch-EE-coat-el (the "t" and "l" sounds with a barely perceptible 'eh' sound); age 37, aircraft mechanic and Janetta's ground crew chief, mother of Ixma and Sisi, one of Ranji's mistresses, aka Farm Girl

Ixma = IKS-mah; age 22, mother of Mina and student, one of Ranji's mistresses, aka LIttle Mama, surrogate pregnancy carrying child of Ranji and Zinja

Calia Pano = CAL-ee-uh PAN-oh; age 23, Ranji's house manager, emancipated former Personal Servant, healer, psychic, one of Ranji's mistresses, Ranji's oldest friend, surrogate pregnancy carrying triplets of LT Yalcamara Tchanoonka and SGT Stimmi Parletl (both deceased)

Sisi - SEE-SEE; age 6, Ranji's oldest child, outgoing

Mina= MEE-nah; age 3, Ranji's youngest; shy, possible autism

Doyya Lovyanchiti = DOY-yah (rhymes with BOY-yah) LOHV-yan-CHEE-tee; age 27, noblewoman, Captain, Imperial Air Service, Second in Command (2/c) of 602 Air Security regiment, roommate and lover of Chita Wanwari

Chita Wanwari = CHEE-tah wan-WARY; age 28, Senior Sergeant and regimental NCO of the 602 Air Security regiment

Hanami (Running Fox, Ranji's admin) = hah-NAH-mee; Third Sergeant, Ranji's admin assistant

Oceotl = oh-see-OHT-el; age 30, Master of Bear School martial arts, working for Ranji to protect his family, especially his daughters

In this chapter, some may find the actions of a primary character startling or even out of character. That's sort of the point; when people push themselves too hard, they lose sight of what's important, and may even act irrationally, and even against their own best interests.

And yes, at the end, that indeed is a reference to a Joe Walsh song, "Life's Been Good," from his 1978 album, "But, Seriously Folks...", the gods of chaos having their fun again.

Enough with the reader abuse, already! Let's get this show on the road!

Thanks to TerrytheTraveler, StoshB, and 528 for lending a hand with catching errors and asking questions. Any continuity goofs, gaffs, typos, dropped words, usage errors, omissions, commissions, permissions, WTFs and OMGs are totally my fault.

We are still in Book 5 -

Atlantis Rising

. Welcome back to the violent world of Starlight Gleaming. Enjoy!

Chapter 22 - Golden Days

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Part 1 - Making Adjustments and Expanding the Family

* * * * *

My wife, Izel, was pregnant with our baby.

That notion filled me with such a warm glow of happiness, it was hard to describe how deeply and positively that fact affected me.

Ixma carried my child with Zinja.

Yeah, that gave me deep, warm fuzzies, too.

Of course, Calia carried the children of our late friends, Yalcamara and Stimmi; sadly for them, this family will be the only family they would ever know, but at least House Tchanoonka would not only survive, but hopefully thrive.

I liked touching their bellies, telling them I couldn't wait to meet the babies they were making. I was already used to being a dad, but I hoped that I would be present when all these new lives made their appearance. I had seen animals give birth at my parents' estate - Ixma seemed fascinated with watching videos of animal babies being born. Sisi thought it was cool but no big deal. But the notion of being there to welcome each child from the first moment they drew breath? Mina wasn't interested watching any videos, as in, nope, not having it, and her response was to bury her face between Ixma's arm and body. Interestingly, sometimes she got up and went and entertained herself elsewhere.

That didn't mean I loved Sisi and Mina any less. Far from it! I never had siblings while growing up, and there were times when I had yearned for someone my age to play with. Of course, when I was in my teens Calia showed up and she joined me in my studies, but were different circumstances and a very different situation.

Sisi and Mina had each other, and they had friends at school and elsewhere, but most friends come and go. As Izel reminded me in our talks together, brothers and sisters remain forever, even when they're gone, like her older brother, Arakawn, and her younger sisters, Berzi and Fassa. Even when they later embrace evil, like Kirfan, there was no escaping their sibling relationship.

My agreement with Izel to honor her tribal traditions did necessitate some changes. Mentally, I understood the Nahua practice of daily sex; it reaffirmed that a baby was happening, and it reassured the father that his continued involvement was important, all under the guise of the baby's spirit needing the energy from the father's semen delivered into the mother's pussy. That meant for me that each morning I needed to arouse my wife, give her pleasure, get hard for her, and culminate our union by pressing deep into her pussy and filling her with my sperm.

Making love every day was yet another way that I showed my wife love and respect, especially by honoring her people's traditions. In turn, Izel became quite affectionate, often greeting me with genuine enthusiasm and happiness. Thankfully, she, Calia, and Ixma got along great.

For me, it meant waking up a bit earlier, and then waking up Izel so that we could make love. It wasn't long before the sound of my wrist-alarm going off that both of us were awakened. She had at first resisted kissing me because of "morning breath," but I didn't put up with that nonsense; I assured her that we both had it, and that while having a clean, fresh-tasting mouth was considerate, my need to kiss her or hold her close at that moment when I emptied myself into her was more important, that to me she was beautiful and sexy just as she was, and she soon adjusted to the fact that right after waking up, we were going to make love.

As the days passed with this new routine, Izel became even more passionate, which I hadn't thought possible. As she urged me to come inside her, I likewise told her I needed her to show her love by enjoying what I did to her, and for her to come for me, and if she needed me to touch her a certain way to help her along, to tell me so.

It helped we both slept nude.

She liked missionary position, and many days, that's what we used. I enjoyed her whispers of encouragement while I plundered her pussy with my hard cock. Her murmurs of love combined with the lust in her face as she took what I gave her helped deepen our emotional bonds.

Another factor was that I had taken to speaking to her in Nahuatl during our love-making, and that spilled over into me doing that whenever I was with Janetta as well. Both women responded positively, saying it meant a lot that I made the effort. If I had known how to speak Oexican, I would have done so during my times with Zinja and Ixma. Little Mama did teach me how to say "I love you" in her native speech, which made her grin like a lunatic. Even better, when I told her that when she was coming, she'd come even harder. Calia surprised me by speaking Vedan whenI was intimate with her or whenever the topic needed to remain private.

With the impetus on Izel and I to make love daily, I did some like variety; with encouragement from me as well as from Janetta, Izel learned how to pleasure herself while I laid back and she rode my shaft, quickly learning how to grind her clit against me, selecting the pace and intensity that she desired.

Once in a while, instead of starting right in on making love, my wife and I played in the shower, washing each other until I hardened, at which point I lifted her up and pinned her against the tile wall, driving into her sheath and proceeded to thoroughly hammer into her core. Other times she bent over, bracing herself as I slammed into her from behind, letting her bounce on my cock, my balls slapping her clit till I emptied myself into her clutching folds. Nearly always as she came, she moaned my name in an ecstatic mix of love and lust. After I finished, we embraced and kissed happily.

On weekends, I tried to make love to Izel at a slower pace, and often ate her to two or three orgasms before entering her quivering folds. Once inside her, I took my time, building her up and slowing back down so as to prolong our intimate connection. We both enjoyed my moving within her snug wet heat. We also learned to keep plenty of water to drink close by, because all that leaking lubrication quickly dehydrated her.

While sitting astride my lap, my wife learned to edge us both so as to prolong our coupling, which she happily indulged in. Izel told me she also enjoyed it when I took her from hard behind, especially when I lifted up to give her short thrusts that rubbed along the roof inside her pussy; not only did she get wetter, she had to bury her face in her pillow to help mute the screams as she came, often hard, her pussy clenching a bit more firmly around my shaft. I did my best to come with her, or at least as quickly as I could after her release.

Sometimes Janetta and Zinja woke up and watched us, Zinja embracing her from behind, almost always reaching around and squeezing and tugging at Janetta's breasts or fingering her pussy until she grunted and shivered through her release. Despite Izel getting so much of my sexual time, Janetta voiced her approval of us honoring Nahua tradition. That's not to say that I didn't make love to Janetta with as much ardor. The truth was that she was putting in longer hours at the airfield, and while we did make love, she was often tired and ready to crash. The reasons for that - and what was going on with my fiery warrior's mind and heart didn't manifest until later.

Sometimes when I looked at Izel and realized that within her body a new life was growing, she'd catch me looking and smile. Or I'd see her cradling her lower belly, then she'd to see if I was watching her, and if I was, she'd smile and we'd exchange a silent look of love.

For Ixma and Calia, their pregnancies had been deliberate; this was also their first experience with this major life-changing event. Like with Izel, if either one saw me watching, I'd wink and her face invariably blossomed into a grin.

That, in turn, gave me appreciation for my other lovers, that their bodies were made for making new life, and whenever I made love with Janetta and Zinja, I told them how amazing they were, and how much I loved making love with them.

There were some necessary adjustments because of their pregnancies. As the weeks went by, Calia's breasts became extra sensitive as did Izel's, so I had to be gentler; Ixma was still periodically nursing Mina so she escaped having to make that adjustment.

When morning sickness threatened to incapacitate Ixma, Calia studied all she could about it and within a week or so came up with some herbal teas the three of them drank down; they assured me the tea helped reduce their nausea. Thankfully, after a month, their hormones re-balanced and pretty much ceased to plague them.

One important change was that once Izel knew she was pregnant, she stopped sparring altogether. Instead, she began exercising with Calia, Ixma, my girls, as well as with Terra and Salvia. Indeed, I later heard that Izel encouraged her women staff to join in, which they did. They learned katas from Calia, performing strength and endurance exercises with slow, deliberate movements. Ixma insisted Mina practice alongside Sisi. They also had fun practicing dance routines. Oceotl joined their dance practices as well. I was told the big man was surprisingly graceful.

A few weeks after I had returned to command the 602, Calia asked me to go with her to see Dr. Jehantli at the Nanotech Center. She said it was important, and that was all I needed to agree.

Once we arrived, we greeted Sergeant Nuna, the doctor's admin. She used the intercom to notify him of our arrival. He soon opened his office door, standing aside to let us enter, and my guards took station outside.

"You said this was urgent?" Dr. Jehantli verified as he returned to his seat behind his desk. Calia and I moved our chairs closer.

"Yes," she confirmed. "I want you to create a new genetic profile for Lord Kandikan, and compare it to previous scans."

I was taken aback by her request. A baseline genetic scan had been made when I entered the Air Militia at sixteen, and another one was created when I entered flight school in the Air Service when I was nineteen. The profile was an integral part of nanotech healing.

Genetic manipulation is a thing within the Empire. Not just getting injections to cure ailments, but for those with money, mild enhancements could be obtained. The most popular choices among women were breast enlargements, with some choices of nipple size and thickness, as well as size and coloration of the areolae. Men, too, could - with restrictions - alter the shape and/or enlarge their penis and balls.

In places where it gets hot, some rich women will sometimes go topless, and they will pay money to periodically modify the size and shape of their breasts, the areolae, or size and length of their nipples in accord with current fashion, or in an attempt to set a new trend. There were even some genetic tweaks, like removing body hair under the arms or at the crotch, and some women, obsessed with symmetry, underwent cosmetic surgery or used nanotech to make the folds of their vulva uniform in shape, or to trim their nether lips if they thought them overlong.

Ixma once asked me what I thought about it, and my response was, "Don't you dare!" and after waiting a moment for my words to sink in, then assured her that I loved her body as it was. She immediately gave me a kiss and a hug, sighing with contentment in my arms.

There were other modifications that could be purchased by the idle rich, but some decades ago, there had been a movement that further genetic research was to be voluntary because the ugly, horrible truth was the Empire's biological prowess had been purchased at the expense of hundreds of thousands of criminals and slaves; their contribution to science had often resulted in horrible, painful deaths. Because political prisoners soon became fair game, there was a surge in civil outrage, and when it was proven that sometimes evidence had been falsified, the Empire had nearly erupted into civil war. Those guilty were later publicly executed, but it took open court hearings over a few years to restore public confidence. Another important change was some long-needed judicial reforms.

Some genetic treatments could be performed as outpatient therapy, but many times the patient needed to be sedated, for even though nerve endings often didn't run deep within organs being repaired, there was some pain involved, and cosmetic changes could be quite painful as there are a lot of nerves just under the skin. I'd seen both Bilan and Rana literally transform before my eyes. I realized then that a subtle genetic change might not even be noticed, especially if it had been slipped in among the myriad other inconveniences - like subcutaneous tracking chips given during inoculations in boot camp. Many warriors were still getting chipped in other places within the Empire, while those who transferred to High Guard were given a shot to remove the tracking chip.

All of this crystalized at once in my mind. Inhaling sharply, I looked at Calia. "You think something was done to me!"

"I do, my lord," she agreed grimly. "When you entered the Air Militia, you were able to proceed from erection to ejaculation three to five times a day without issue."

I struggled not to laugh at that; she was remembering those days from her perspective, not mine. Yes, I'd thoroughly ridden this wonderful woman as she cried out my name and all of the two times I'd flooded her core five separate times in a single day, each encounter leaving us sweaty, exhausted, yet glowing with satiation and affection. But in counterpoint, I'd had a few hours rest in between, and at the end of the day, my balls were pretty empty, the last two couplings yielding mere dribbles. Still, to her point, some days just seeing her nubile form or a glance from her eyes had aroused me and I hadn't hesitated to stretch her pussy around my cock and bring about our mutual bliss.

Calia continued speaking. "For a few years we weren't in regular contact, my lord, but that's changed since we've returned to High Guard. You are still in your sexual prime, yet there's a discernible difference in how often you initiate intimacy. Some of it could be attributed to fatigue and stress, but not this much of a change, not without cause! I would put your current effective libido at a third of what it was before you entered the Air Service. If you ejaculate twice a day for several days in a row, the more often you persist, the worse your physical discomfort. And that's not right."

Calia gazed at Dr. Jehantli as she continued. "The doctor will say that ejaculating once or twice a day is well within functional human norms, and that's true enough, but that's not

your

baseline, my lord. I think an examination of your medical records is a good place to start. I want your genetic profiles compared for any discrepancies."