Starlight Gleaming Ch. 18

The late afternoons before dinner continued to be the time I had with the women in my life. To keep things fair, Janetta insisted that I spend time with the other women before giving allowing herself more time.

Short as they were, I treasured my time with each of them.

Sometimes, though, it was all too much and I ended up falling asleep. The one I was with napped with me, and while they would have enjoyed making love, they assured me they liked being held in my arms while we slept together.

Probably the most emotional encounter was when Calia and I were finally able to be together. Aside from the group encounter in my room at my parents' place, we hadn't had a chance to be alone together since then. She quietly wept as we made love, telling me how much she missed my mouth and hands on her body.

She came over and over as I moved slowly within her tight pussy. What surprised me was one moment I was stroking within her folds and she had just come when suddenly I started spurting inside her. I'd felt pleasure but no impending release. I pressed into her as my cock spasmed, emptying myself within her core. Calia gripped me as we kissed, shuddering as she came yet again.

At that moment, I heard her voice, clear as a bell. Oh, my dearest love! Yes, love me, Ranji, love me!

And that surprised me even more than the sudden surprise orgasm. Because at the moment I'd heard her words, our lips were locked together and tongues danced as I sprayed inside her quivering walls.

I realized I'd not heard her words with my ears, but with my mind.

Breaking the kiss, I looked at her. Her face was filled with adoration, yet also a trace of fear. And I knew instantly that the fear was not for herself, but for my reaction.

Braced on my elbows to keep my full weight off her, I tilted my head. "I heard you speak to me, Calia. In the middle of a kiss."

"You know I'd never do anything to hurt you, my love." Then she cupped my face and I heard her voice inside my head again. Your love is the rising sun for me, chasing away the darkness. Please, don't fear me, my beloved. All I want is to love you and to be loved by you in return.

"Oh, my. So it wasn't my imagination or something accidental. This is something you know how to do. How is this possible?"

"While we were at your parents, your father gave me some writings from my people. Writings once thought lost. There are mental exercises among them and I've been practicing. And... over the last year he's given me injections, trying to strengthen my natural abilities."

Some sort of nano-gene manipulation. Had to be. "Are you able to use this at a distance?"

"I haven't tested it for mare than a few feet. So far, I can only pick up thoughts from those I have an emotional bond with. I'm learning to shield myself better, too. Getting too many thoughts at once can be overwhelming." Then she looked uncomfortable. "Your father said I should be careful who learns about it."

"I quite agree." I brushed a lock of hair from her face. "If you are interested, I'd like to explore this with you. Does anyone else know?"

"Ixma. And Sisi. Sisi thinks it's a grand game, but she is remarkably ethical. We've talked about secrets, and like at your parents' place, she knows to tell us if something is bothering her. But even at five years old, she also has a strong sense of honor, and with the examples you and the captain provide, she believes that when she gives her word, she needs to keep it. She's a child and could be tricked, of course, but she won't brag about it to impress others. She's learned from you and the others that actions are important. Sisi is Princess of the World and she gets others to follow her because she is brave and decisive. You are her Tenant, and in her mind, that makes you both her dad and her officer, an idea that both Ixma and I encourage."

I rolled onto my side, pulling her with me. "As long as I don't end up being on a pedestal. I make enough mistakes as it is."

"You don't have any say in that, I'm afraid," she told me. "Sisi is a very bright young girl. You didn't have that long with her before you left for the Seventh Hell, but you made an impression on her. She knew Zinja and liked her a great deal. She understood Zinja gave food to her family so they didn't go hungry, and that you provided the money to buy the food. Sisi knows as much as she is able to understand that her old family is gone, and we are her new family.

"We made no secret that you adopted her and Mina, and she knows that all of us would fight to keep them both safe. She sees and hears how much we love you and how we missed you when you were gone. That's why she started praying for you. When we joined in, it helped strengthen her emotional bonds with us. Now you've returned, all the adults around her are visibly happier, and that increases her own happiness.

"Ranji, you are the adult male figure in her life. Her own father was brusque and sometimes dismissive. You, on the other hand, you read to her and play games with her. You talk to her and listen when she speaks, and by doing so, tell her in a thousand ways that she matters. All those are things her sire never did. She's become aware that you check up on us before going to bed, making sure we are safe. To Sisi, you are her officer, dad, and her hero, all in one."

I shook my head. "I'm just doing what I learned from my parents."

"You are a good dad, Ranji, to both your daughters. This upcoming inspection is critical to your career, yet you set aside time for them both every day. When you arrived home at your parents' and I saw you hugging Sisi, I knew how much she meant to you. I also knew how much you wanted to hug Mina, but you were respectful of her feelings."

"What I know of love, I learned from my parents and from you, Calia. I owe you so much, dear heart." I kissed her gently. "I love you."

She sighed, and I saw the last of her fears dissipate. "You know, she's resumed saying her nightly prayers at bedtime."

"Oh?"

"She asked Zinja and Ixma both if the gods were real, and they told her yes. You came back to us, answering our prayers. Sisi says our names and asks the gods keep everyone safe. You are Tenant, of course, and your Janetta is simply The Captain. She includes your parents, and your brother and his family as well. At the end, she asks the gods to protect the commanders, too."

I had to smile. "Does she know their names?"

"Oh, yes. I know of at least three times that Zinja told them the story of what happened when they were abducted. How Sisi bravely fought to stay with Zinja and was kidnapped by slavers. The chase to find them, led by Commander Orchid, the Vengeful Hand of the Emperor. How Commander Orchid then called on the loyal Commander Barankoshto to help her defeat the Emperor's enemies. How you looked for them, fighting the evil slavers and how Zinja was wounded. Ixma reminds them that even as she was being taken to the hospital, Zinja begged you to keep searching for Sisi.

"Zinja then asks Sisi to talk about what happened to her, about how she was scared. Mina buries her face into Ixma when its Sisi's turn to speak. Sisi tells how they put the crying Mina into the cage with her, and how the scared Mina reminded Sisi of Tishtin, her own lost little brother. So Sisi held her and comforted her, saying how she belonged to Zinja and Tenant, and that Zinja promised that Tenant would find her and bring her home safe. Sisi told Mina you would rescue her, too. And then... and then..."

Her breath caught, and she started to weep.

I pulled her to my chest. "Go on."

"One of the draconians. He killed one of the children... and ate it in front of them. Sisi only says the monster with four eyes and big, scary teeth roared loudly, then declared how delicious they looked. I saw the whole thing from her memory. It was bloody and gruesome, Ranji."

"They're all dead, Calia," I murmured, rubbing her back. "We got them all."

"I know, Ranji. That frightful image is seared into both their memories. Mina's image is blurring, but the image of a large mouth with sharp teeth is deep in her psyche. Ixma told me what happened when the girls saw the stuffed alligators outside the Commissary."

"Don't dwell on that. Tell me the rest."

Calia took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. A pause, then she made pleased noise. "Sisi says the truck stopped, there was yelling, and then the soldiers came and got them out of the cages. One soldier told them not to be afraid because they were now safe. He asked her if she was Sisi, and she said yes. He said the commander was looking of her. When they tried to separate Mina from her, Mina screamed, refusing to let go of Sisi. Sisi told them Mina was her friend and needed to stay with her.

"Both of them were taken to meet Commander Barankoshto. The commander knelt down and asked if she was Sisi, and said yes, and that her friend was Mina. The commander said she was looking for you because Commander Orchid told her to, and how she rode with them to make sure they got safe back to Tenant and Ixma."

I couldn't help it. I misted up, and had to brush at my eyes.

Calia moved up and kissed me. "At this point, both Zinja and Ixma take time to hug and kiss the girls and tell them they love them, and that the commanders and Tenant and even Ixma killed the monsters threatening them. Your mother heard this tale. Your brother, Bilan, and his family heard it, too. They were riveted by the story. Powan and Mika asked their father to describe a draconian, which he did. He told the boys it was okay to be afraid, but courage is doing what you need to do, even when you are afraid. He told all the children that Sisi comforting Mina even when she herself was afraid was very brave, the mark of a real Warrior. The boys were impressed." She shook her head. "Your Janetta told Sisi that getting captured and rescued can happen even to the bravest warrior. But because she was the daughter of a warrior, Sisi needed to learn to fight to protect herself and to protect others. A short time later, they found the play swords and Sisi became Princess of the World and the boys became her Warrior Princes."

That caused me to laugh aloud, my heart warmed by Janetta's words to my daughter. Then I thought of my brother with amusement. Bilan had warned me Sisi couldn't have both of his sons. If the three of them grew up and she wanted them both and the boys were okay with that? Well, who was I to defy the Princess of the World?

I kissed Calia again. "It's a wonderful story, worthy of repeating. Both commanders would be pleased to hear their role in the tale. Thank you for sharing that with me. It seems I've missed a lot."

"Yes, you have," she agreed, "But you had no choice. Now you're back home with all of us. While we were there with your parents, we celebrated Powan's birthday. Sisi announced that when it was time for her birthday, Powan and Mika were invited to visit. Your mother asked who said she had a birthday, and Sisi replied that Tenant said she and Mina had one. The captain then said she too had a birthday coming up, and that you had given her a cake with her name on it."

I nodded. "Actually, I need to add reminders to my calendar for each of you. I tend to get focused on work, and without a reminder I tend to forget. Or remember months later."

She giggled. "I'm well aware of that, my love."

While growing up, if it hadn't been for Calia, I would have been rudely surprised by more than one event. When I enlisted at sixteen, Calia had programmed the dates for birthdays and my parents' anniversary into my first tablet. Including my own.

"Sisi has asked about having some of her new friends from school attend her birthday. Ixma and Zinja both said it was up to you."

"That sounds grand. Go ahead and make the arrangements, and do the catering with the Commissary Diner. If there's a lot of people, it might be better to rent a room at the Rec Center or something. Talk with Ixma and Zinja and make whatever plans the three of you deem best. Use my charge card to cover it."

Sisi and Mina's birthday was about a week after the upcoming inspection. Janetta's was less than two weeks after that. I needed to believe I'd survive the examination, and that we'd all still be together afterward. Making these sort of plans helped me, too.

After Calia and I cleaned up, we returned to the living room. Calia chatted with Ixma, Zinja, and Sisi, and they went upstairs to make birthday plans.

* * * * *

Part 6 - Recruitment Efforts, and Resistence Builds

* * * * *

Because of the long hours, the next several days were something of a blur.

Yalcamara came over late one afternoon with a few volunteers and Janetta grilled them. After a private consult with Calia, she gave them passes. We now had our school escorts and house guards.

Jay's arrival into the 602 proved to be fortuitous. He suggested that we raid the overflow pool for both the Air Service and the Ground Service for new recruits. A simple solution, and one that had escaped us. It wouldn't solve it, of course, but it was a really good idea. Wished I'd thought of it.

Even though basic training currently had some differences, once upon a time the Air Service was a sub-branch of the Ground Service, and the War Ministry still allowed people to transfer between the two Services as needed, as long as you were qualified for the billet you applied for and there was an opening.

With an enthusiastic pitch from myself and Pen, including talking about the pay-incentive program for completed training courses, we manage to secure over two hundred recruits after a day's work. I bought Pen ten cases of millet beer. He both turned right around and shared the beer with his troopers. Not wanting to play favorites, I bought cases for Doyya and Jay's people as well.

I received a lot of smiles and greetings after that.

The new Air Security troopers needed to be trained, and where possible, they needed to have experienced partners to help train them. The influx of new people gave me a real sense of relief. Doyya, Jay, and Pen worked out training schedules as the ranks began to fill.

As for Charunt, despite all the many searches and random area sweeps across the war base, he vanished without a trace. After two weeks, Ground Security downgraded the alert, though he still remained at the top of their most wanted list, and ours as well.

The extra patrols at the airfield remained, but we pulled the guards at Janetta's hangar as well as those guarding my house. Doyya insisted those guarding my girls remain, and I readily agreed.

At work, things continued to be hectic and demanding. Meetings were held with Ground Security as well as with the base commandant.

Yalcamara and Chita worked on the names received from HR, naming the women formerly with the 602. Most of the recent ones were dishonorable discharges due to pregnancy. The suicide rate among the women was disturbingly high, as were the number of dead simply listed as "undetermined cause of death." Disgraced, pregnant, and returning home with no visible means of support, some of those deaths would be justified as "honor killings" by their families. Appalled, I found no honor at all in their deeds.

However, there were over forty former-enlisted women still alive. Former corporals and sergeants with years of training and experience. Once the offer to return was made and the change in command explained, they were eager return, and in far too many cases desperate as well. A quiet Chita said more than a few openly wept on the phone.

Chita had three people writing up travel and canteen vouchers that I paid for and completing paperwork. Funds were sent out by wire transfer, enabling the women and any dependents to have credits and travel orders within hours. Doyya made sure that someone from Air Security was there to meet them when they arrived at High Guard, and transport them to their new quarters.

I only had to chew out five or six junior security officers across the Empire who challenged the returning women. To make it good, I used video-links so they could see my grade and my office, and Yalcamara or Doyya would jump up and snarl about "wasting the commander's valuable time," and volunteer to hop the next transport with a platoon of Air Security to wherever it was, arrest them, and have them personally explain to the Air Marshal why they were holding things up. Doyya even took to keeping a set of steel shackles in her office that she would bring to these video calls. If Jay or Pen were there, they would scowl menacingly.

Being threatened by several angry Air Security officers seemed to work wonders, and the women arrived without further harassment.

Those veterans still pregnant were also invited to return. Until their child's birth, they would have civilian jobs providing daycare services on the base for the others already in the service with infant children. They had a guaranty of acceptance of re-enlistment sixty days after giving birth. With my support, Chita made the offer of employment to Voyacherno's former sex slaves - the women abandoned by their husbands to join in the daycare duties. Every one of them accepted the daycare jobs with the housing and accompanying stipend.

With input from Doyya, Yalcamara, and Chita, I wrote up a formal order granting these once-disgraced women clemency based on Voyacherno's criminal activities, stating my belief they had had their birth control tampered with, extolling their eager desire to serve the Empire, and I cited the Air Marshal's warrant as granting me the authority to act. With a copy of the Air Marshal's order already in their permanent records, it should hopefully protect them from future questions.

We were nearing the fifty-percent strength marker, and things were constantly buzzing.

With my long days, I arrived early enough to have some face-to-face time with Jay before the end of his graveyard shift. The long days also allowed me to have some time with Doyya at the start of her swing-shift as well. A person can cover more subjects and learn more through speech than when conversations are limited to email and written reports. If you know the person, even a look can tell you volumes.

Soon, we were able to field thirty-two cruisers for patrol duty for all three shifts. We worked closely with Ground Security on scheduling and routes. A lot of the new troopers were green, so to compensate, we made sure that at least one partner had at least a year's field experience. We staggered the training classes, sometimes holding them in conference rooms. There were at least seven platoons that needed training from the ground up. So that's we did - we started their training.

Once the names of the dead came from HR, I went into action. One wall of the large break room at the end of the building was cleared, per my orders, with covered with fresh paint. At the top, written in large print was the following:

Our Mission Statement is that Security Services are both warriors and peacekeepers. We lead warriors, protect lives, and ensure property is maintained on military installations. Our creed is Loyalty to the Emperor, to the Air Service, and to our fellow Warriors.

Below that was written, In the name of the Emperor, for the Empire of Chimorro, and for the Air Service, we remember our Honored Dead.

A painter began to carefully inscribing names in date order, oldest first. Women were marked by an (f) code. Included were their military occupational specialty code, and date of death.

Truthfully, I had reservations about including the names of those who fought against us, but in the end, I felt I needed to acknowledge their passing. This left room for future losses, too.