Starlight Gleaming

Gleaming Ch. 23

by TJSkywind

A lot of things happen here. For those sensitive to such things, in part 10, there is a suicide attempt that is thwarted.

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

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

Book 5 - Atlantis Rising

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Part 4 - Rad High Club

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With the rumble of the aircraft engines humming through the seat, I kissed my wife, and she leaned into me until our foreheads touched, all of us wearing the noise suppression earphones.

"I love you, my husband," Izel murmured to me, her brown eyes alight and her face filled with happiness. "I can't wait to introduce you and the rest of my new family to my people!"

"I love you, too, Izel Kandikan. Have I told you lately how happy I am to have you in my life?"

"Hmm, yes, but you can keep telling me, Ranji, because hearing you say it makes me feel wonderful."

"Duly noted, dear wife. I love having you in my life."

Izel closed her eyes as a shiver ran through her body, then sighed happily.

Janetta's mutter of "fuckin' tapir pricks" from my other side brought a chuckle to both of us. Janetta and Zinja were secured to their seats, leaning against each other and softly snoring while sharing the large pillow from our bedroom that Zinja had carried aboard. Instead of the earphones, both had opted for the foam ear plugs to make the sound of the roaring engines bearable.

Amused, Izel spoke in Nahuatl, saying, "You wore them out last night, my husband, even as you pleased them both. It was so hot watching you stretch them, destroy their minds with pleasure, one after the other, leaving them gaping and overflowing with your potent seed."

"You enjoy watching me making love to them?"

"Of course, Ranji! Seeing proof of your new virility adds to your hotness. We both owe your Calia a great deal, and I want to watch you pleasure her. Now you are more easily able to physically attend to all of your women. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you honoring Nahua tradition, and you never make it seem like an obligation or a duty. Each morning, I get to wake up with you lying next to me. You approach me with love in your eyes and affection in your touch. Whether gentle or when desire drives you to roughness, I love feeling your strong hands on me, guiding me to where I can best please you with my body, and feeling that lovely, hard cock opening me up, driving me to ecstasy, and filling me to bursting. Starting out my day filled with the warmth of your love in my belly and a well-plundered pussy? It's the best feeling in the world, Ranji."

It was true, I did owe a lot to Calia. I was able to focus on work when I needed to, but I was also able to provide more affection to Calia and Ixma, and both women seemed to blossom from the increased attention.

Izel caught sight of Sisi looking at me, and my wife smiled, giving my hand an affectionate pat. "Your oldest wants a bit of your time, I think. Go be with her. She loves her Tenant."

Grinning, I unbuckled and stood as Izel retrieved her tablet from her carry-on bag.

My daughter beamed as I moved over and freed her from her safety harness. Wearing her junior Air Service uniform and jacket, she had her name tag, Kandikan, the High Guard patch on one arm and an Air Security patch on the other, the latter gifted to her by my Second. Scooping my daughter up into my arms, we gave each other a hug as I made my way to one of the few windows. Ixma and Mina joined us. Sisi and Mina watched as we briefly kissed, then we held up the girls so they could look out the window with us to the world below. I had deliberately chosen to carry a pair of binoculars for the trip. Drawing them out, I put the strap over Sisi's head so she could indulge her curiosity and zoom in on distant sights.

Holding onto Sisi, when she saw something interesting, she'd let Ixma and I look through the binoculars, and either Ixma or I would explain what she'd seen or simply marvel with her. Sisi tried to get Mina interested in looking through them, but Mina wasn't interested, more content to hold her stuffed rabbit and cuddle against Ixma under her jacket.

The early morning skies had been cool, grey, and rainy when we had departed High Guard, but the weather cleared as the rads literally flew by and we headed west, racing the sun in its overhead trek.

This part of the Inner Sea, within sight of the continental shoreline, was known as the Sheltered Coast. Below us were just a few of the numerous serpentine chains of islands comprising the northernmost Eastern Islands; while some islands were small, others were quite large. Amongst the crystal-clear seas below us, we saw lines of coral around sandy shores surrounded by verdant canopies of green or jutting towers of rock erupting out of the surf. Further inland there might be flashes of reflected sunlight from glittering lakes, rivers, and streams, and through the binoculars, we spied a few distant yet still spectacular waterfalls on island after island.

Before the recent trade agreement, we would have had to travel around the eastern air space of the Eastern Islands, avoiding the proximity of the Seven Nations entirely as on my earlier trips, and extending our travel time by a full day. However, the new agreement allowed us to fly nearly direct from High Guard to Mohingo War Base, saving both hours of travel time and considerable amounts of aviation fuel. We had departed just after a very early breakfast, having packed our luggage the previous evening. Our four-hour trip would have the added benefit of traversing two time zones, allowing us to arrive near lunch time.

The fuel savings was a good deal all around. While most of the rest of the developing world still primarily depended on petroleum, there was a strong movement to shift away, especially for civilian and commercial land transport like the Empire used.

Recent scientific theories posited that petroleum (and methane pockets) were renewable over a few thousand years, being replenished by specialized bacteria living deep within the outer mantle instead of being created over millions of years during previous epochs as had been previously thought. As an analogy, human joints are encased by bursa sacs filled with thick synovial fluid that keep the bones from grinding and abrading against one another. The theory was that petroleum and methane pockets both acted to reduce the friction as tectonic plates abraded or subducted, giving the affected plate some "give" to reduce potential fracturing, and that the absence of such deep pockets of petroleum and methane were akin to the bone moving against bare bone, a painful experience in humans, and making earthquake events much more severe. Siphoning off methane pockets led to increased micro-quakes as the tectonic plates continually made minor adjustments to building tension along the edges. Petroleum pockets helped cushion the land, reducing the chance the plate interior might buckle and fracture, as it had millions of years ago when the shifting plates caused the northern continent to be split as the center was forced to buckle, allowing an inner sea to form, a sea that persisted for millions of years.

What we did know for sure was that as active as the surface of our world was, with storms, rivers, volcanos, and more, that our planet's outer mantle was just as active. There were freshwater rivers that sprang forth from underground pathways, and one of those good-sized rivers, traveled close to ten rads before vanishing underground again. Another legacy of the ancient inner sea was the extensive limestone cave systems left behind. One such system in Kene-Tuck within the Seven Nations had been partially mapped, and stretched all the way west to another huge cave system in the Empire's Mogollon State, a distance of exceeding seventeen hundred rads!

Likewise, the Eastern Islands had numerous freshwater pools along its shorelines that were sometimes visited by bull sharks that traveled through labyrinthine underwater caves accessible from the shore. While other sharks might be limited to the heavier saltwater layer during high tide, bull sharks weren't so constrained.

According to Ixma, bull sharks have the unique ability to store salt, and have been documented traveling hundreds of rads up freshwater rivers searching for prey to eat. She also assures me that there more examples around the world. I'm informed that this new science specialty is called Subterranean Geologic Systems.

As Ixma shared some of her knowledge with us, I saw joy in her eyes as she spoke and smiled back at her. Today, she explained about the many rich undersea ecosystems surrounding the islands as we saw patches and bands of soothing blues, teals, and pale greens.

At one point we passed over a pod of orcas, periodically surfacing as they hunted. Ixma authoritatively told us these apex predators were known as the dire wolves of the ocean, and lived off of large fish, sharks, and seals in equal measure.

"Is this something you are interested in pursuing, Little Mama?" I asked her.

Biting her lower lip, she said, "Well, I love studying zoology, too, but I'm equally fascinated with marine biology, marine archeology, and how this new branch of Subterranean Geologic Systems impacts both. I can't decide!"

I chuckled. "It's all right. Follow where your interests take you. The Empire depends on its farmers and ranchers to keep its many citizens fed, but just because you were born into the farming caste, that doesn't mean you're locked into it forever. Science has spill-over effects between disciplines, and the better we understand our world, the better we'll be able to cope with future catastrophes. You have my blessing and my support to continue your studies, wherever they take you."

"Thank you, Ranji!" Ixma exclaimed, pulling me down for another wet kiss. Mina grumbled a bit, but we paid her no mind.

We looked at the sights below for a bit, then returned to our seats. As Ixma and Mina settled, Calia dozed, her head nestled into her own pillow.

On my way back to my own seat, I leaned down and murmured, "I love you, Calia."

My reward was the hint of a smile that tugged at the edges of her mouth, showing that at least on some level, my friend and lover had heard me.

Our immediate destination, Mohingo War Base, was located in the northwestern region of Nahua. The plan was to spend the first two weeks in Nahua itself, allowing Izel time to catch up on her administrative duties and attend to any matters that were outside the norm. My wife was also determined to accompany me on my visit to Teela and Zaniyah.

With the death of Kirfan, the Nahua elders had been unwilling to let Izel take over as ruler for all of Nahua; as much as I knew her people would benefit from my wife's wise leadership, I was personally grateful as I had come to treasure having my wife living with me at High Guard. There were still a few bumps in the family dynamics, but overall, Izel was fitting rather smoothly into her position as second after Janetta, and actually took over many of the duties that Janetta as Mistress of my household was responsible for but had been previously handled by Calia. With Calia's skills as a mediator and emotional healer now in demand, Izel was happily filling the void with her experience and wisdom.

In any event, the Nahua Council of Elders had appointed Lord Cacalotl Axocotzin as the interim Regent. Among Queschuan speakers, he was referred to as Lord Raven. His appointment was pending approval by the Emperor, but no one was worried there would be any changes. Lord Raven was the paternal first cousin to Izel's late father, Tizoc. Interestingly, some media sources had been referring to Izel's late father as Tizoc the Great, perhaps as a move to help those who had suffered under Kirfan's mismanagement cope with the current hardships. Izel warned me that there were still parts of Nahua in turmoil, attributable to bad economic policies that provided short-term cash income at the cost of impoverishing the citizens. With her disapproval clear, she said some of that damage might take years to recover from.

My wife worried over how much time she would end up spending in meetings and governing; she really wanted to show off her homeland to us. And as much as I knew she wanted to impress me as her husband, I knew she also wanted Janetta to fall in love with the place as the homeland of her parents.

Prior to our departure, Izel had had several video conferences with her staff in Ocotépan and especially with her long-time deputy, Lord Tango; he was the head of her civil bureaucracy, and effectively ran things during her many long absences. A couple of times she had had me listen in as she conferred over important issues, allowing us both to recognize the other by sight. Later, she sometimes asked for my opinion. Other than a few minor points, I never saw anything amiss with her logic or her decisions. I nearly always ended up offering her a backrub afterward, which she enthusiastically accepted. If Janetta was around, I made sure she got one, too. If I was asked to do some deeper muscle work on the glutes, well, that tended to get the recipient worked up, which ended up getting a deeper, wetter, internal massage which was also well received.

However, the last time I'd rubbed Izel's back, she'd startled me by suddenly bursting into great, wracking sobs. When I asked her what was the matter, she had replied, "I just love you so much, Ranji. You treat me like a queen! You're always so loving. I've had back rubs before, but my maids do it because they work for me. You do it because you love me. I'm so lucky to be your wife!"

Startled by her reaction, I turned her over so she could sit in my lap. After calming down, Izel became quite affectionate, peppering me with dainty kisses and wandering caresses. When her touches and hip grinding in my lap started getting hard, she happily stroked me until I was firm enough for her to straddle me, and then she rode me to our mutual release. Afterward, she fell asleep while sprawled on me.

As my wife had observed, the rest of the weekend before our departure, I'd used my mouth and my cock on my fierce warrior and my farm girl twice. Between long naps, Janetta and Zinja got hot food, and then had their pussies thoroughly pounded and filled. Of course, I'd also stuffed Calia and Little Mama in between, leaving them happily dozing and leaking as well. I readily admit, I enjoyed their sweet charms and the fact that I was more often capable of rising to the occasion as the situation warranted or desired.

Later, at dinner, Calia and Ixma had given me happy smiles. Calia ventured to say that even if the captain didn't say anything, she seemed mellower at the dining table. Carefully speaking in Nahuatl, Ixma wryly declared that I'd fucked the bitchiness out of her, at which point both women dissolved into giggles. While neither Janetta nor Zinja liked the comment, Izel's snort as she sprayed part of her drink caused further amusement. While concerned for my wife's recovery, the long-held festering guilt from having neglected Calia and Ixma so often faded away. My balls were more frequently emptied but they no longer ached for hours afterward.

I had hoped with my increased energy - courtesy of Calia's healing - to maybe resume my correspondence studies with my father. Instead, keeping up with my wife and mistresses ate up what little free time I had. Fortunately, the increased libido also reduced the number of hours of sleep I needed each night. I was also drinking and eating more, but that was a necessity. At first, I was unloading an extra pulse of semen during my orgasm. Three weeks after my healing, I was regularly firing off two extra squirts, and earlier that morning, when I'd come inside Izel, I had fired off a total of nine times into her liquid heat. When I'd pulled out, it didn't all come gushing out at once, either. Calia had said she'd tweaked my sperm production. After I had finished hosing down Calia's insides, Ixma had wryly observed that she now needed to keep extra padding in her panties because she leaked for hours afterward. Then she had licked me clean, her eyes filled with a mix of sultriness and satisfaction.

That set me to thinking about Teela. She was Nahua, too. For many months, she'd gone without me following Nahua tradition with her. The older woman had known I wasn't Nahua, and had kept quiet about her pregnancy. It was only because of Zaniyah, by way of her house manager, that I'd even known she'd conceived. Would she expect me to inseminate her during our visit? Or more to the point, would Izel expect me to do that? As much as my personal life was filled by the five women I lived with, I had to admit that I found the notion of hammering Teela's pussy hard enough to make her squirt again arousing. And getting a chance to feel her round belly, full of our child? I actually looked forward to that.

While I was thoroughly enjoying all the extra intimacy, I hoped this increased libido boost stabilized soon. I was enjoying the extra energy and my quicker recovery times, but I didn't want to have a need to inseminate taking over my free time. I flashed on the embarrassment of becoming perpetually horny.

Calia snorted aloud, then dissolved into howls of laughter as she sat up, and her gaze caught mine. Ixma, naturally was curious why the sleeping Calia suddenly woke up laughing so hard. Not a single word passed between them, but Little Mama looked straight at me and started giggling.

Yeah, this new telepathy thing could be embarrassing. It would have been easy to let their laughter irritate me, but I knew the women loved me, and if the image of me hammering Teela's pussy into squealing and gushing submission or me worrying over possibly having a constant erection gave them amusement, well, what of it? I knew that if there were serious issues involved, Calia would do all she could to make it right. In the meantime, at least with Teela, I would get a chance to enjoy it instead of getting clocked on the back of my head by a skillet.

When their laughter abruptly ceased, I frowned, and both women flushed, gazing at me with concern.

*

Master, you nearly died from that blow!

* her voice said in my head. *

Had that happened, we would have been bereft, never having had the chance to see you and let you know how much we missed you!

*

I felt Ixma's concern echoing through Calia's thoughts.

I'm aware of that

, I thought back at her.

Overhearing a conversation sometimes happens. With your ability to hear thoughts and communicate without speech, well, I trust you, Calia, to respect the privacy of those around you. Catching a stray thought is one thing, but continuing to listen to my thoughts is rather rude, don't you think?

*

Yes, Master, you're right, and I am ashamed. I'm sorry! I should have stopped or let you know I was listening, and I inadvertently involved Ixma in my transgression. Please, forgive us?

*

The contrition on their faces was more than enough for me. I smiled at them, and relief washed over their faces. I thought,

I love you both.

Then I noticed that Izel had paused in her reading, setting her tablet into her bag, and took my hand into hers. "Husband, uh... Ranji? I... uh, I've heard stories about something called a Rad High Club and that you were already a member. I wondered if it were possible that you and I could maybe, possibly get to...?"