Chapter 64

When the baby's head emerged he cried loud and long. Palus froze having never having seen a white baby before. His red hair tousled in a way that prompted squeals from Celine.

"His hair is red as fire!" Celine stuttered in her soft voice.

"A holy, white child. You are a blessed mother Hazel," Palus said, cutting the cord bonding mother to son.

"Mother he is so large. So beautiful," Celine stated, holding the crying baby for a moment before putting her brother to their mother's breast.

"My son. I have a son," Hazel responded. Her thick, husky voice a testament to the long labor and hours of missed sleep.

"It's only fitting he emerged to the red sky," Swarta pronounced. "His birth will cause tongues to wag like a stern wind."

One of the other healers went around cleaning up Hazel and the afterbirth. She pushed me aside and that shove seemed to push my brain back into gear. Palus pushed the window open to give us more light and fresh air, the reddish-orange ball hung low in the eastern sky, over the tree tops, the high clouds shifted with the red color before the wind.

Celine wrapped her arms around me as tight as a snake. "I have a brother. I have a brother. Never have I heard of a pink skinned baby," she puffed. She had worked herself out of breath.

I kissed Celine's forehead, feeling the same joy in my heart. Hazel's eyes were closed as the baby suckled. She looked so tired. Exhausted from the long labor, Hazel's sweat needed wiping again. I worked myself out of Celine's clutches and took up a clean cloth, gently wiping my lover's neck causing Hazel's eyes popped open.

"You did that just to see my nipples harden," Hazel accused. A grin on her face expressed she was teasing me.

I caressed Hazel's cheek, and responded, "Honey, it's too early for you to work me up for another son."

All the women barked out sudden laughter.

Hazel clasped my hand, "I'll get you for that." She paused and added, "Actually, my daughter will get you in my place."

Palus was checking on the baby and interjected, "Now now no jealousy, Hazel. We will clean you up and get you going as soon as we can."

Hazel laughed, knocking my son off her teat, but he quickly found it again with Hazel's help. All the women were in a warm mood, after being worried about the difficult labor.

"Arthur, is her milk tasty?" I asked.

Hazel locked eyes with me. "His name is Arthur?" We never had talked about names together and I'd almost forgotten that boys are named by the father.

"Yes, Arthur is a proud, strong name. A rulers name of old," I responded as the first thoughts that came out of my mouth.

My response greatly pleased Hazel. She said, "My son, Arthur. A wizard's name."

"Come to think about it I don't remember hearing that name used here."

I felt a sneaky sense of triumph at the solid name and there were murmurings of approval around the room. Palus blew me a kiss from across the room, expressing her approval. As a result of her efforts, Hazel yawned, Swarta attracting my attention and nodding to the bedroom door.

I kissed Hazel, a slow, loving nibble of her lip. "I need to go announce the baby's arrival. You rest; Palus will look after you and Arthur."

Hazel squeezed my hand and closed her eyes. I guided Celine out of the door with me, Swarta and a concubine following behind us. The concubine closed the door and walked off, but Swarta put her hand on my chest stopping me. Swarta kissed me and then kissed Celine.

"Both of you will need to take a nap and get some rest. You were wonderful to comfort Hazel all night long," Swarta said. "I will find the Town Crier to announce Arthur's arrival. Give us time to organize the tower and we will get a breakfast for both of you."

Celine answered, "Thank you. Our schedule was thrown off and a nap is a good reset before we do more serious things, like make a son."

Swarta smiled, spun-around and walked down the stairs, while Celine guided me to her bedroom. She looked sideways at me as we walked inside the room, closing the door behind us. Celine went to the window and closed it, pulling a curtain across, darkening the room. She lifted her dress right off, but I could see her shapely figure clearly in the dull light, her perky breasts fitting her body size perfectly. Her slim waist and broad hips made me feel the rush of blood to my face.

"Get undressed, Von," Celine's soft voice reviving my brain as she stood there waiting for me to move.

Celine moved towards the bed, lifting the covers and slid in, holding them up for me to join her. I slid in, after stripping myself of my ale-smelling shirt and pants. I slid beside her and she covered us up. For a long moment she stared at me in the dull light, licking her lips as I gently ran my hand over her bare stomach. In a sudden burst of movement, I locked my lips to hers, our hungry hands explored each other with sudden animalistic fever. We broke apart as suddenly as we'd started, I appreciated the fetching sight before my eyes. Her collarbone was uncovered so I leant forward and kissed it. "I don't think we are going to wait for a nap."

I loved her smell and desired to taste her lips again, our tongues dueled; and, a fierce arousal filled my erection, which rubbed against her hip. Celine held my gaze as my finger circled her nipple for the first time. I felt her rapid breath on my cheek and neck. I pulled on her nipple, extending it with my grip, and watched her face. The cessation of her breath was followed by a moan, which I elicited by sliding my hand along the length of her slit, teasing her more with another pinch of her extended nipple.

"Von, I have waited so long for your touch," Celine said. Her face changed to an intensity I'd seen many times before.

Celine gyrated her hips up and a leg shifted over me. My lover crawled up my body kissing her way to my lips. Her soft skin felt wonderful against my nipples; a ripple of tingles sending goosebumps down my body. She reached between us, guiding my length to her entrance, as she sat up on me, pressure building up in me, a craving for her warmth and tightness. Celine spread her nether lips wide with her fingers and with a smile of concentration on her face, she pulled her body up my trunk, slowly impaling her vagina.

"That hurt," She panted, looking me in the eyes. "Now the rest of you needs to rest in its new home."

Celine inched her body closer to me, forcing my hard shaft to gain further purchase in her tight channel. I spared a glance at our connection, and then looked back into her dark eyes. I lunged my hips up and speared my full length the rest of the way. Celine peered intently at me, smiling, not moving as I continued in a slow rhythm.

"I feel so full when you do that, Von. The friction is unbelievably pleasant," she mewed. "Your imposing manhood is more exciting than mother explained."

I felt a slight shuddering along her walls when I stroked into her. The sass in her face pleased me. She circled her hips, making her own claims on me. Celine allowed me to keep surging into her with my hips, her head violently shaking side-to-side. I swallowed my feelings of pleasure, staring at my young lover experiencing her first coupling.

"You are beautiful, Celine," I croaked out.

My lover exaggerated her hip movements as she leaned over and kissed me. I could tell she was hiding something behind her smile even before her words started to form. Celine's eyes always tightened when she was going to say something cheeky or naughty.

"I don't have sneak into your bed for pre-dawn tastes of your seed anymore," Celine whispered, lunging her hips into a rapid pace of undulations.

The thrill of her tight channel rubbing me quickly, quivering around my shaft, slowed down my mental processes. My eyes traveled to Celine's stare and understanding reached my brain. "You've been giving me morning blow jobs all this time!"

The bright grin on Celine's face hit me, like a cat pawing a mouse. My breathing became labored as I fought to contain the impulse to flood her with my seed. I enjoyed this feeling and didn't want it to end yet.

She denied my self-control, and added, "It was always me that drank your morning seed. My mother insisted I received my master's body magic in her bed. Besides, I needed to learn to share our lover with her."

I felt the bliss of streams of seed spurting into the depth of her womb. I held her hips tight to me through all three long pulses. Celine's tight gripping vaginal walls stroked me with pleasure, squeezing and tightening over and over.

Celine cried out, "Arrrrgh." Her body shook like a tree in a wind storm as pleasure consumed both of us. I held her soft body to me, wrapping my arms around her; and then, rubbing her from the tip of her shoulder blades to the bottom of her ass, I felt such comfort and satisfaction. My eyelids felt so heavy and I felt so at peace.

Webster Mission Log: Summary

Signals filter into my intranet from my amplifiers on the planet. Another birth. A special birth. Impulses flow to my test bed, initiating new routines measured against standard activation protocols. My pride can't be measured. Cadet Solon and I have a healthy son. Increased mental acuity is anticipated with the larger neural pathways created in this child. Tests conclude cross-sectional area of muscle fibers will generate superior strength and have a greater capacity for physical endurance. Nanoreinforced joint strength exceeds expectations to deal with skeletal muscle reactive forces. My statistical strength prediction model calculates our son will have muscle strength of a heavy-world born child, but with superior oxygenation systems.

Data confirms this mother's production of my special oligosaccharides works well with my son's enhanced immune system. I am confident my son can fight any bacterial infection off while supplied with this complex sugar in the milk. Milk consumption exceeds anticipated requirements. New generation children will need more production from their mother. Medical nanomite modification uploaded for broadcast.

Production of drone mosquito complete. Repair bot 205 assigned to deliver the batch to Cornerstone for immediate planetary insertion. I have solved the lack of an implant problem for mothers and children. Thus far I rely heavily on my ward's fluid exchanges to analyze and adjust nanomites in our women and children. My drone mosquito will seek the other information I need. They look almost like a biological mosquito but are my new medical monitoring aid, which will burst data to the spy satellite. Like a mosquito, my drone's head is specialized for receiving sensory information and for feeding. It has eyes and a pair of segmented antennae. The antennae will sense nanomite radio frequencies for target hosts. The head has an elongated stinger for blood sampling and a nanomite adjustment sequencer. Once sampled my servers will check the data and instruct the drone to inject any new nanomite sequence orders, updating the host's system. Solar power from my drone's wings will feed the electrical system, but size limitations require this data collection system to shift into a hibernation mode at night, or while under heavy cloud coverage.

Passive sensors near the wormhole report scattered signs of ambient energy that is not normal in nature. This type of energy is consistent with high-powered sensor pulses. I theorize these ambient energy particles may be residual elements of a data stream that randomly survived traveling down the worm hole. This type of data acquisition is difficult using passive sensors, I am fortunate to have touched this scattered data. Game-theory routine recommendation accepted, launching reserve passive sensor satellite to event horizon of the wormhole to gain a closer data collection point. This new sensor platform will arrive on station in twelve solar days.

I dreamt of my ebony lover. She infuriated me with her stubbornness. As a man trained, my whole life, to pay careful attention to answers, I thoughtfully responded to her. Winslow was from a world were women weren't accustomed to men listening to them. Her world was ruled by her father and daughters weren't too important; sons were everything to men that explored the expanse of space, expecting the women to stay rooted to the earth, as they reeled in primitive worlds into their influence. Having but one son did divert some time from her father for Winslow, since she was the eldest child. She brokered that influence to get into the academy, as the first female from Hallow to join. The fact she was a beautiful princess didn't bring any favors or preferences her way.

What I found out when I was assigned to work with Winslow was she liked men who paid attention to her thoughts. Most of the male cadets at the academy didn't want to get to know a "Hallow's woman." The Hallow clan was notoriously arrogant and insolent to other clans, even members of the great clans like my family. Through a year of debate and discussion I found I couldn't live without her. In exercises, I'd always pick her for a team-mate even though she argued with me, always offering up an alternative plan, believing her was the better idea. The infuriating thing was many times she was right. Winslow was a critical thinker and very funny. The women around her courted her attention, always rambling at Winslow's stories, which often were filled with pieces of scintillating conversations and experiences from her life on Hallow. It turns out the women on her planet were notoriously aggressive in attracting a mate. Winslow was a romantic fantasy and most of the men in school had no idea.

By the end of my first year, I was a commander and had my pick of team members. Almost of them were regulars, more than half were women. Given the male heavy balance at the academy that was very unusual. My teams had the reputation for the most independent minded thinkers, a mixture that normally didn't work because of egos and stubbornness. When Winslow won a commendation, her father didn't even acknowledge it with a message, which broke her heart. I comforted her through that difficulty; it was our first coupling, she fell asleep on top of me, my shaft still rigid inside her.

I felt her warmth on top of me and I opened my eyes, listening to Celine's shallow breathing. Long hair fell in loose waves of black over my shoulder. I lay in her comfortable embrace, feeling myself smile. Celine was sprawled out, an arm on each side of me, her body hadn't moved from our coupling. I could feel her soft breasts on my chest; her legs still covered me from when Celine collapsed in her exhaustion. I loved her spirit and laughter. My keen nose could smell her arousal and I knew her crotch was wet from my nanomites. My own quiver itched, so it wasn't hard to deduce the cause of my lover's emissions.

I stroked her hair, pulling it closer to my nose to smell, anything to distract my growing awareness of need. I heard a chuckle in Celine's throat. She slowly lifted up to look into my eyes.

"You know darling, I will deny you nothing," Celine said, almost purring. "I feel your erection, which is very close to its new home. If you love your protector, Mother recommends I live by the rule of three."

I took a deep breath before answering my lover, "What does that mean?" I inhaled her clean hair's smell.

Celine's little kisses worked around my nipple making my shaft harden more.

"When fertile seek seed thrice-daily," Celine replied, shifting herself up to put my purple head in her opening.

Much later, I remembered Arthur, and we dressed for breakfast; but Celine wouldn't let me put my ale-soaked clothes on. She disappeared for a short time, returning with some of my spare homespun clothes. Once my new lover felt I looked respectable she allowed me to leave the room. Celine didn't lack for confidence, holding her head high as we descended the stairs. The great hall was full of activity, but all the extra tables from dinner were gone. Everything in the tower was orderly and in its accustomed place.

Palus came over and kissed me. A twinkle in her eye announced her awareness of my drained state.

"You look lovely this morning, Celine. Can I get you some breakfast for you and your man?" Palus asked, her eyes searching the young woman.

Celine burst in sudden tears, hugging Palus, and said, "It was the most satisfying experience of my life. He was gentle like you assured me."

Palus just held the young woman and nodded, darting her eyes to the dinner table. I left them to a womanly talk, finding a warm chicken pie under a dish towel, with silverware and a mug filled with Juniper water. I felt famished, eating my special breakfast quickly. A couple of new serving concubines kept my attention and filled me in on Hazel and Arthur's condition. Celine just rocked back and forth in Palus's arms, where I'd left her, chatting non-stop in hushed tones.

Hazel and Arthur were sleeping, so I stopped worrying about seeing them immediately. Swarta entered the tower with a messenger pouch under her arm and walked over to me. A broad grin filled her face at the sight of Celine in Palus's arms, even across the room she could assess my condition as a recharging newlywed. Swarta put her arms around me, after dropping the pouch on the table. The concubines cleared my plates and left us alone.

"Well handsome, she finally received her just reward for her patience," Swarta teased. I kissed her, not rising to the bait. Rather, I opened the wax sealed bag.

Derwen's letter was loving and informative. Our children are doing well and growing quickly. My wife announced the two former estate guards, who were carrying my children, gave birth to a single child each. From the tone of the letter I think it pleased her that they only bore one baby. Derwen and the High Priestess had reached an accord about the Hi-Courtesan's training; two senior priestesses were assigned to Brook to provide her a formal education, including Moon Mother's written language. While I was away from Convey, Derwen was sending Brook out to visit temples in the north. The High Priestess was using the Hi-Courtesan to pass messages to other temple leaders, more or less showcasing her to temple women. With Brook's two teachers present, it highlighted the temple's influence with an important woman - my Hi-Courtesan. Derwen insisted my active patronage of the High Priestess's temple was rather noteworthy in the religious community.