The Aledan's Children - First Draft Chapter 4

 R Rated for Sexual Content  

 The time between the years when the Sential Trader made its way back to Oltarin seemed to past slowly while the times they were together seemed to fly. Then suddenly, it seemed, the day arrived for Parei and Jamerin to claim each other in their psi mating.

     Jamerin waited behind the safety barrier watching as the Sential Trader descended into the landing bay. He forced himself to remain calm against the exhilaration that bubbling up inside him.  Although he had seen her every two years since their psi-mating at age eight, the wait to be together was over.

     The last few years had been the hardest, because they had matured sexually and Jamerin had grown to a few centimeters taller than his father. He had his father’s stark green eyes and dark reddish brown hair.  His handsome facial features reminded Chelle of her late brother Jerry whereas Calan closely resembled his father.

     The last few months had been hell for Jamerin and Parei because of the psi-mating.  Though he tried to keep his libido under control, all too often all he could think about was finally making love to Parei.

     They had shared erotic dreams for months of coming together for the first time. Their only satisfaction completed by their only hands. Now they were deemed by their parents old enough at eighteen to actually mate.

     Normally, young men and women would be starting university studies at that age, but they had both completed their studies well before their eighteenth year.  Jamerin took four degrees---astrophysics and navigation, math, biophysics, and Wholaskan philosophy.  Parei took the same. 

      Ever since his trip to Velran as a child, Jamerin had dreamed of going back into space and owning his own ship like Captain Otian. He and Parei would be co-captains. Parei was born in space and knew no other life nor did she want one. She wanted that life with Jamerin.

     It seemed to take forever for the Sential Trader to land and dock in its assigned bay.  Jamerin could sense that Parei was just as eager to see him as he was to see her. Finally, the ship settled to the ground and the docking tube was extended to the loading dock.  The hatch slid opened and Parei burst from the opening, running to Jamerin, and flinging herself into his waiting arms.

Parei!

     Jamerin!

     Without preamble, their mouths came together in a long heated kiss. Love and desire resonated back and forth between their minds without words, just pure feelings. In their minds, they had been lovers in love for a couple years. Now finally, those dreams were coming true.

     “Okay, you two,” Otian laughed.  “Get out of here before you embarrass us all.”

Finally, their lips parted.  Jamerin and Parei were both shaking with desire, needing to complete their union sooner than later.  “We’ll com you later,” said Jamerin, forcing himself to speak in a normal tone. 

     The two slowly drew apart, then left the landing bay walking each with one arm around the other. They took Jamerin’s hovercraft on a ten-minute flight to the isolated cottage on Sapphire Lake that he had rented for their joining.  As the craft set down at the lakeshore in front of the cottage, they realized their first time would not be slow and romantic as they dreamed.

     Because of their psi-mating, they had been so aroused for so long they needed to simply come together.  It was the first sexual encounter for both of them---not that they hadn’t had prior opportunities in their young lives.  They had made a pact to be each other’s first and hopefully last and only. They were both virgins, though Parei had psionically dispensed with her hymen to avoid the pain and mess of first coitus.

     They were barely inside the door when they started pulling off their clothes.  Although they were eager to come together, they stopped to simply gaze at each other naked. Suddenly they were grinning at each other at the pure joy of the moment.  There Parei stood before him, shorter than he by a head with a beautiful figure just shy of voluptuous, long dark hair and dominant hazel eyes, soft full lips parted and ripe for kissing.

     Parei gazed back a Jamerin in wonder.  Tall but more muscular than his father with the dark red hair and stark emerald green eyes. Her eyes fell to his long, thick, erect phallus and she imagined how it would feel inside her.

     “Parei---“Jamerin murmured hoarsely and held out his arms. 

She leapt into his arms, wrapped her legs around his waist, and fused her mouth to his. He walked them into the bed room and they fell onto the bed.  I need you now, Jamie. She planted her feet on the soft bed and opened her thighs wide to welcome him, wet and ready. Even so, it was a tight fit and he had to go slowly, giving time for her inner tissues to stretch to accommodate him.

     They moaned aloud almost in unison at the exquisite sensations of first joining body to body, mouth to mouth.  Feelings of pure joy echoed enveloped them. Jamerin could sense the taut feeling of her nipples rubbing against his chest and how she felt as he thrust into channel compounding his own sensations. Parei sensed the way his cock throbbed with each thrust and his pleasure at the way her nipples felt as they rubbed against his chest.

     Harder, faster! Parei urged and Jamerin complied.  She met him thrust for thrust as he slammed into her driving them toward that pinnacle of their first mutual orgasm. It came quickly and seemed to go on and on in a sensual high that they would never forget.  They had dreamed it many times together across the vast expanse of space that separated them.  Now it was real augmented by the deep and abiding love they shared. 

     In their ten years of knowing as psi-mates, their love had grown from the platonic love of friendships as children to the sexually charged passion that brought them together as lovers.  Every touch, every kiss was born of that love and the passion of sexual maturity. In the heat of their desire, they exchanged their profound love in its purest form, mind to mind.

In their three days alone at the lake shore, they sated their primal lust repeatedly.  They even made love on the sand at the water’s edge, one of the many sexual bonding experiences they shared in their dreams. 

     At the end of those three days, Jamerin took Parei to his family’s home on the high plateau Blue Summit Mountain for their formal pledging. Their parents originally wanted them to wait until they were at least twenty-one to take a lifemate pledge. But their psi-mating made the purpose of waiting superfluous.  Psi-mating was for life.  There was no reason to wait.

     Their families and friends had gathered at the family home on Blue Summit by the time Jamerin and Parei arrived.  The spacious garden in the front had been transformed with festive decorations. At its center was a large pond with a fountain in the middle of it.  The fountain was not as grand as the Narcaza fountain on Aledus that Hankura and Chelle had memory shared with their children, but the water climbed high into the air before it arched and fell back into the pond.  Jamerin and Parei paused to admire it before they went into the house to prepare for the ceremony.

       They stood together holding hands, watching the water rise and fall for several minutes. Having studied Wholaskan philosophy and the Patterns of Insight on which the Path of Insight doctrine was based, Jamerin could appreciate the significance of the fountain. He had shared that knowledge with Parei as well and they had incorporated it into their pledges.  After a few minutes they went inside and separated to dress for the ceremony.

     Lara was waiting when Parei came inside and ran to hug her friend.  It’s so good to see you again!  I wanted to come and meet you at the Starport, but Jamie insisted the wanted to meet you alone.

I thought of you, Parei responded silently.

Right---for about ten seconds before you were in Jamie’s arms. Was he worth the wait? Lara giggled.

Yes, but I am sure glad the wait is over.

     When Lara released her friend, Chelle, Rona, Nalina, and Lishaad hugged her in turn.  There were tears in her eyes when they finished at the love these women bestowed on her and she sent it back to them.  They didn’t have to ask about her tears as she brushed them off her face with her hands.  The four psions could feel her happiness and Nalina could see it.

     Lara and Rona each took one of Parei’s hands and led her to the mirrored dressing table in the master bedroom shared by Hankura and Chelle.  Rona applied her daughter’s make-up while Nalina arranged Parei’s long hair in an upswept style with dozens of curls atop her head laced with ice blue ribbons and pearl beads.  When her hair and make-up were finished, Lara and Lishaad brought out Parei’s dress.  It was made of a silky, shimmering ice blue material with a halter top that dipped into a V between her breasts then fell into an A-line to her ankles, and left her back bare to the waist.  It was both sexy and elegant. Lara and Lishaad helped her put it on from the floor up so as not to damaged her elaborate hair arrangement.

     “Oh, baby, you look so beautiful,” Rona said to her daughter, framing her face in her hands. “I can hardly believe you are old enough to be pledging a lifemate already.”

Parei laughed softly.  “Mom, it wouldn’t matter how old I am, you would still think I’m not old enough. But you only get one psi-mate.  Besides, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.  Jamerin’s coming with us when we leave.”

     “Goddess, I’m going to miss him,” Chelle sighed.  “I never expected him to be psi-mated, but then why not.  His parents are.  We psi-mated when I was five and Hankura was ten. Space, that seems an age ago---45 years later.”

     Yet, Chelle as the other women had not seemed to age at all. With lifespans of two hundred years or more, fifty was more or less equivalent to twenty-five for life spans half that.  It just didn’t seem that her eldest son should be leaving home just yet. The other two would be next, she realized as tears pricked her eyes.  She sniffed them back as she saw everyone was ready to proceed.

     Unlike the weddings of old Earth, it was customary for the mother to give the female child into the keeping of her new mate.  Rona walked arm in arm with Parei down the stone path to the pond where the pledging ceremony would commence. In contrast to Parei’s ice blue gown, Rona and her attendants wore shimmery gowns of periwinkle blue in the same style as Parei’s. The exotic music of a flute like instrument accompanied the procession to the water’s edge.

     Wearing a two-piece tunic and trouser suit, Jamerin was accompanied by his father and attendants who wore slightly dark shade of royal blue tunic and trouser suits like Jamerin’s.

     Parei and Jamerin were handed off to each other at the edge of the pond in direct line with the fountain at the center, surrounded by their family and many friends old and new.  Jamerin’s attendants also included Casir, Delmran, Otian, Orin and Calan.  The attendants fanned out so they could all observe the pledging couple.

     The guests included the McKells of the mountain clans, as well as representatives from the lake clans.  Parei’s family consisted of Captain Otian, her stepfather, her mother and her half brother and sister and honorary family, the crew of the Sential Trader.

     The din of human voices filled the air until the young couple came together at the water’s edge. The crowd hushed and waited while the two took each other’s hands, facing each other.

Jamerin spoke first:

     "In the Path of Insight, it was written by Arall: 'The Mother of Life is responsible for the evolution of humankind throughout the Galaxy. She gifts some humans with a special insight--the gift of mind sight . . ..

     "'Through the gift of mind sight, those who are chosen will recognize their soul mates as they meet through the will of the Mother . . . And those who meet will be destined to share a Path of Insight for all time. For through time and space, the human soul knows no bounds.

     “Love has many facets, my beautiful Parei, and knowing love is a precious gift. You give your love freely, and what's more, you accept my love freely.  Parei, I give you my love now and always. As it travels the circle of our thoughts from my mind to your mind and back again, it grows and blossoms to a joy beyond words, pure and untouched inside us.”

     He looked at Parei with eyes full of love unspoken that flowed freely between them and waited for her to speak.

     “Beloved Jamerin, I love all that you are . . . with all that I am . . . all that I will ever be. We are like the water that ripples in the pond. Your love is my love . . . and your joy is my joy . . . your sorrow, my sorrow . . . your pain is my pain. We are one with our love. We are one now and always, and with all that we are, we will protect our life together from this moment on.”

     Then they came together and kissed and hugged amid cheers and applause from their guests. An evening of drinking, dancing and socializing followed the ceremony.

     In the days after their pledging, Jamerin and Parei divided their time between packing Jamerin’s essentials and trail riding in the mountains with his family.  Otian and Rona passed in favor of spending a few days at a Sapphire Lake resort.  But Parei had learned to love riding from Jamerin and Lara from the first year she had met him just before the Aledan’s family returned from Velran via the Sential Trader. Though Jamerin would miss his parents and friends, he was eager to start his new life with Parei on the Sential Trader. 

     In the years since Otian had taken his family to Velran and back when Jamerin was a child, Otian had built up his specialty transport business with the help of Rona’s business acumen. They now had two ships and were planning on acquiring a third when Jamerin finished his pilot and navigator apprenticeship in four years.  Parei had a head start on her apprenticeship because she was a resident aboard the Trader. As such she had integrated her general education with her apprenticeship.

     Jamerin would easily catch up.  Though highly intelligent, only Parei and very few others had Jamerin’s level of intellect or psionic abilities. Ever since that trip to Velran, Jamerin always planned a career in space, but he was not inclined to join the Federation Military Space Force.  He wanted the freedom of a tramp freighter.

     Younger sister Lara rivaled her brother, but was bound to make her life on Oltarin by her love for horses.  She had used part of her trust fund to buy a few hectares of land adjacent to her family’s agricomplex to build a small horse farm.  Her house and barns would be built while she attended the veterinary medicine program on Velran.

     The night before departure, Jamerin started to question his decision to leave his home and family.  He was born on Oltarin and spent all but two years of this life there. He was loved here and everything was familiar and comfortable. It would be so much better if Lara and Calan could come too. 

     Jamerin had always been closest to Lara, perhaps because they were closes in age. But they both doted on their young brother from the time he was born.  Staying would have been easy.  Parei probably would have agreed at least to try it for a couple years---until the Sential Trader came around the next time. But Jamerin felt that was not his destiny.  He felt there was more out there somewhere among the stars.  He had dreamed of leaving ever since his journey to Velran.  Staying would only delay the inevitable.

     It made it even harder to leave the next morning when Lara hugged him tearfully.  “I miss you already, Jamie. It’s not going to be the same here without you.”  I don’t want you to go!

     “I love you too,” Jamerin murmured huskily. “It’s not your time to leave.  I’ll see you in a couple years when we come back this way.  Probably just in time to take you to Velran.”

     “Then I will have to say goodbye to you again,” she sniffed.

     “After a six-month journey.  That will give us plenty of time to catch up.”  He grinned down at her and kissed her forehead.  He set her away from him and went on to hug the rest of his family in turn.  He hated the wistful sadness that he felt from them about his impending departure.  It made him feel guilty for leaving them.  Didn’t they know they would always be part of him? That he would always love them.

     His mother hugged him tightly, and he could feel her willing herself not to cry. Chelle felt certain he was in good hands with Otian.  She just wasn’t ready to let him go even though her baby boy was taller than both her and his father.

     Lastly he hugged his father.  Hankura held him tightly and patted his back.  I am so proud of you, son.  I hate to see you leave, but I know there is much for you to see and do before you meet your destiny.

     As the promised one?

     Perhaps.  You will know when the time comes. Mesgar believes you are.

I’m keeping an open mind. I hope to see him again before the time comes. Maybe when I take Lara to Velran “Meanwhile, I will see you all in two years.”

     I love you, son.  Hankura grinned at his son as he stepped back from their embrace. Though not happy to see him go, he understood his son’s wanderlust. After all, he had gone to Earth to find Chelle despite all the reasons he shouldn’t go. Of course he was glad he had or he wouldn’t now be standing beside her to say goodbye to their firstborn before he headed out to space.

     Hankura, Chelle, and his other two children watched as Jamerin climbed into the waiting hovercraft for Orin Hart to pilot him to the Mari-Sanna Starport.

The Aledan's Children Chapter Three - First Draft

Note: Some of this material originally appeared in Chapter Two, but revisions moved it to Chapter Three.

 

     While the children slept, three more hovercrafts touched down in the yard of the house they occupied. After talking with Otian and Rona, Hankura had contacted his two closest friends Casir and Delmran.  Delmran arrived with Lishaad, Otian and Rona just after Hankura and Chelle.  Soon afterward, Casir arrived with his two wives Jana and Delara.  There were hugs and introductions all around.  It had been years since the longtime friends had seen each other. Lishaad was new to the group but welcomed with open arms just as Chelle had been.

     “They must be exhausted.  They’re asleep,” said Chelle. “They are all feeling vulnerable and confused.  I wish we didn’t have to do this.”

     “I don’t see that there is any choice,” Casir said gently. “They’re children and you are the parents. They are far too young to make this decision. I saw what the psi-mating did to Hankura whenever you were in danger,” he said to Chelle.

     “It was hard for both of us,” she admitted.  “It’s hard for them, too.  That’s why we have to do this.  It’s good that they are sleeping, they will be more receptive.”

     “Are we ready?” Hankura asked. When everyone accented silently he said, “Let’s do this.”

Otian and Rona hung back as the seven telepaths joined hands in a circle.  Hankura started with Chelle and pulled each of their minds en rapport. Individually, none of them were strong enough to convince the children to come home or do anything they didn’t want to do, but together they hoped they could.

     Jamerin, we know what you did. What do you think Mesgar would say after all he taught you? Hankura asked gently. You know that we love you, but what you did to us is unacceptable.

     But, Daddy, they were taking Parei away.  I had to stop them.

     What you have done goes against everything Mesgar taught you. We can’t allow you to continue on this path. You must put away the memory of recognizing Parei as your psi-mate.

     No! No! I can’t I won’t. His telepathy was so strong that it took all of them to contain it so that it didn’t harm them.

     Jamerin, it’s only until you are eighteen. Chelle explained. Please, put this recognition in a secret place and keep it there until you are old enough to claim your mate. Until then Parei will remain your friend and you will see her every two years when they come to Oltarin.

     I don’t want to! I DON’T WANT TO! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!

     Even seven of them together found it hard to hold back the force of his telepathy in his childish tantrum. Muscles tensed and hands squeezed hands. One by one the seven dropped to their knees, straining with their combined psionic energy to hold back the force of Jamerin’s telepathy with their mental shields. The nagging fear that Jamerin would break through if he pushed them much harder slithered through their minds.

     JAMERIN, STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY! It was Mesgar, channeling his telepathy through Hankura and Chelle and their friends. 

     Teacher?  Jamerin’s attention immediately focused on his beloved teacher.

You have broken the Psionic Code of Ethics using mind control on your parents and encouraging Parei to do the same. You know what you have done is wrong. The Wholaskan admonished. With your great psionic strength comes great responsibility. You must do no harm to those who would not harm you.

     I’m sorry Teacher. I didn’t want them to take Parei away. We are psi-mates. We should be together.

     You are children, Jamerin.  It is not your time to claim your mate. Even at eighteen you will have much to learn about life but you will learn together. If you can’t control yourself, your parents must return you to Velran to learn patience and control. I can’t risk your hurting anyone because you can’t control your anger.

     Hankura and Chelle held their breath.  If they had to send him back to Velran, they would have to put him in stasis to protect the rest of the people on the ship. They would have to send him alone. Their life was on Oltarin.  They had already been gone almost three years.

     Do you want to go back to Velran alone? We have no choice if you won’t obey the Psionic Ethics Protocol. We can’t let you hurt people. We won’t let you.

     Jamerin didn’t answer for a long time. He was crying inside, ashamed that he had broken the rules his beloved teacher had imparted to him and Lara.

     No, I don’t want to go. I will wait for Parei until we are eighteen. I will be good.  I promise.

What else? Mesgar prompted.

     I’m sorry Mommy and Daddy and everybody.

     All right then, put the memory away and sleep. Hankura told him. When you wake, we will take you home.

     Thank you, Mesgar. The seven expressed their gratitude as one.

     Did you think we would not continue to monitor the Promised One after he left our care? We knew the early psi-mating would be a problem, but it was a lesson he needed to learn. You took a great risk my friends. Live long and live well.

     Parei was a little easier to convince.  As much as she wanted to be with Jamerin and Lara, she missed her mother and stepfather.  She wasn’t ready to live life on her own as a fugitive from the adults she loved.

     Three years younger, Lara wanted to stay with her family.  She was already missing the security of Mommy and Daddy. She wanted to go home as long as Jamie was going too. Aside from Parei, Jamerin was her best friend.

     When the team finished reprogramming the children, Hankura released them from their rapport.  “Why don’t we go inside and brew up some jern while we wait for the kids to wake up,” said Hankura. “That will give us plenty of time to catch up.”

     “Goddess, I’m glad we took him to Velran!” Chelle exclaimed in relief.  “I thought he was going to take us.”

     “As we all did,” Casir replied.  “I’ve never known a human that strong.”

     “Neither have the Wholaskans,” Hankura said as they all got to their feet. “Thank Goddess for them.”

     “Indeed,” Delmran added.

     “And thank you all for coming to help,” Chelle added.

     “What about Parei?” Rona asked. “Is she going to let us take her with us?”

     “She is,” Chelle told her. “Once Mesgar got Jamerin to agree, she did too. We’ve got them until they turn eighteen. Then the psi-mating will resurge.”

     “I think we can live with that,” Rona said and Otian nodded.

     They went into the house.  It was an interesting take on domed housing build from local wood and stone.  The wood cured to a stone-like hardness that could be polished to a luminous sheen.  It was one of a number of new plans Casir’s company designed for New Demus.

     “This house is just beautiful, Casir,” Lishaad told him. “I should have no trouble selling properties here with gorgeous houses like this.

     “Thank you,” Casir inclined his head graciously. He was as tall as Hankura and Delmran with a build less powerful than Delmran but more so than Hankura. His platinum hair and pale amber eyes were a stark contrast to Hankura’s and Delmran’s darker good looks. The three of them had grown up together on Velran and become lifelong friends.  Each of them had dated Casir’s two wives Jana and      Delara but both of them preferred Casir, who had never been able to choose between them. So he married them both on lifemate contracts which was entirely legal on many worlds including Oltarin.

Jana was a tall, fairly slim brunette, while Delara was not quite as tall with a more voluptuous figure.  They had each had two children with Casir. 

     Delmran’s lifemate Lishaad was tall and shapely with short black hair with a streak of bright red at the front and sparkling brown eyes. Their daughter Beyonn was born within days of Hankura’s and Chelle’s son Calan on Velran.  They had become friends with Otian and Rona on the journey to Oltarin on the Sential Trader.

     Inside the house the nine of them took seats around the table in the formal dining room.  Casir used voice commands on the food processor to order jern tea for everyone.  As everyone sipped their tea, they shared memories with Casir on what had happened to them since Hankura and Chelle had parted with him on Zevus Mar.

     “After all that, didn’t you find psi factor,” Casir asked.  He knew Hankura very well and sensed he was not telling him the whole story.

Hankura glanced around the table at his friends, and silently conferred with Chelle about telling them the truth.

     “We are psi factor,” he admitted.  “As you know, psi is genetically recessive in Normals and homogeneous in psions.  Well, we discovered that it becomes dominant in the offspring of psi-mates through a psionic reaction during fertilization.  That means all our children genetically psi dominant.”

     “The Tregans only suspect this,” Delmran said.  “They tried to capture Hankura and Chelle on the way to Velran to try to prove it.  They want to use it in their genetically engineered soldiers paired with their impenetrable mental shields.”

     “Forn, that’s a scary thought,” Casir swore.

     “That’s why I never reported it,” Hankura explained.  “I’d appreciate if everyone would keep that little secret.”

     “But, if psi is recessive tied to the X chromosome, how come your brother Trevin is not a psion?” Casir wondered.

     “He must have been genetically modified,” Hankura shrugged.  “Otherwise he should have been, regardless of his father.  Capra had a fifty fifty chance.”

     “Do you think dominant psi would offset the Tregan minds shield and make them psionic?” Casir asked.

     “I don’t know,” Hankura admitted. “I didn’t have any Tregan genetic material to work with.  The only psi dominant female I know is our daughter Lara, and I won’t experiment with her eggs to find out.  I suspect that the two could cancel one or the other out.  But I could be wrong. In any case, Chelle and I thought it best to let everyone think we failed to find anything new.”

     “I hope that will be enough,” said Delmran. “Renid is in prison for the rest of his life, but he claimed there are others who will continue rebuilding their empire.”

     “The bastards ruined a lot of lives,” Lishaad muttered.

     “That’s just great,” Hankura said.  “Mother of Life, does it ever end?”

Jamerin was quiet and brooding in the front passenger seat of the hovercraft beside his father as it flew them toward their home in the Cerulean Mountains.  His mother was flying the other craft home with Lara. It was because of him they couldn’t all fly home together.

He was partly mourning his parting with Parei, but also feeling embarrassed that he’d done such an outrageous thing to his parents.  That Mesgar was forced to intervene when he would have harmed his parents and their friends made him feel utterly humiliated. How could he be the Promised One and do this to people who loved him?

He had not only shamed himself, but he had also shamed his teacher whom he held in perhaps higher esteem than his parents.  And he loved his parents deeply.  His father was almost killed on the journey to Velran, the journey they were making specifically to help him regain his grip in reality.  He didn’t remember much of that time in his life except the feelings of terror and loneliness.

Jamerin finally admitted to himself that he really didn’t want to live half way across the world without his parents even to be with Parei.  Neither did Lara.  He was the eldest, he knew better, but he let his emotions overwhelm his reasoning. His parents were right to come after him and make him do the right thing.

By the time they reached home, Jamerin sensed his father had forgiven him.  When the hovercraft set down and glided into their, Jamerin realized he was actually glad to be home.

He had missed his adopted brother and Nalina---even Orin, though he knew the big Tregan didn’t really trust him.  Lanimer came running down the stairs into the hoverport before it even shut off, “Jamie! Hankura!” 

“Space, I missed you guys.  Three years is a longtime!”  Lanimer exclaimed and ran to hug Hankura.

Afterward Hankura held him at arm’s length.  “Goddess, Lanimer, I swear you’ve grown ten centimeters.  I bet Saleah has grown too.”

Hankura released him and Lanimer turned to Jamerin and gripped his shoulders.  “You’ve grown, too, Jamie. You’re as tall as I was when you left. And Saleah is walking and talking now.

She wasn’t even as big as Calan when you left.

Momentarily, the second hovercraft slid into the hover bay.  As Chelle and Lara climbed out, Lanimer ran to hug her as well.  She hugged him and kissed his forehead.  “I really missed you Lanimer. You look really good and so big!”

“I missed you too,” he grinned up at her and Chelle smiled back at him.  When she released him, Lanimer turned to Lara who jumped into his arms and he swung her around in a circle like he had when she was smaller and she giggled up at him when he set her down.

“Come on up everybody,” Orin called down.  “Nalina fed Calan and she’s setting out dinner right now.

They all climbed the stairs to the main level of the house and took their usual seats around the dining table.  Hankura and Chelle said nothing further to Jamerin or any of the others about his little escapade.  They had both sensed his remorse for what he had done on the way back.

Even Orin could see that Jamerin had changed from the boy he knew before.  He was amazed that when they told of their run-ins with the Tregans that they didn’t think of him as one. They looked at him as family and all seemed glad to see him again.

When Jamerin and Lara saw Nalina, they both went to her and hugged her in turn, smiling up at her.  It was good to be home.

     After the New Demus incident, Jamerin adhered to the Psionic Code of Ethics Protocols as he promised Mesgar he would. He was pleased to be reunited with his adopted brother Lanimer who was five years older. Despite their difference in ages they enjoyed many of the same things. They helped Nalina entertain the younger children including her toddler Saleah. She and Orin had a son the year after Hankura and Chelle returned from Velran.

     Knowing they would probably not return to Velran as a family, Hankura and Chelle procured a variety of university level holo degree programs and established a learning center in Blue Summit. Because there remained a shortage of medical personnel they included the complete Med Tech series and set up internships at the Blue Summit Clinic. Both Lara and Jamerin took the course with      Lanimer. Unlike Lanimer, Jamerin and Lara had no intension of pursuing a career in medicine, but they both had psychokinetic healing abilities.  All of the children had a voracious appetite for learning new things, and it kept them busy over the long mountain winters.

     Since Lara expressed interest in becoming a veterinarian at a young age, her parents imported the holo-program for her. She completed the program in three years instead of four so she would only have to stay on Velran for two years to complete her internship.

     Calan’s dawning came when he was four years old.  It came gradually so his parents were able to guide him in learning control.  They encouraged Jamerin and Lara to share memories of their psi training with Mesgar.  They could do it in a way that Calan almost felt he had actually been there with them. It also served to draw the siblings into a deep abiding friendship despite the difference in their ages.

     Although Calan was also a stronger in psion than his parents, his dawning was uncomplicated and he understood the importance of control and the ethical use of his abilities.

     Despite their busy clinical schedules, Hankura and Chelle took a few days every month for a family outing.  Calan was riding the forest trails with his mother on her blood bay stallion Orion even before he could walk. Chelle had always loved the peace and beauty of the forest.  Hankura grew to love it in part because it reminded him of that first day in the forest on Earth when he found her and they made love in the soft moss on the ground under a green canopy of trees.

     The Cerulean Mountains of Oltarin reminded him of those mountains on Earth. There had been times while living on Aledus that Hankura and Chelle both wished they could have stayed there. At least they’d had freedom of their minds on Earth that they never had on Aledus. Now it seemed they had it all.

     Initially, they simply took long trail rides through old wildlife trails. Later on they would cut their own using special laser cutters to fell trees and the children would use telekinesis to clear it from the path. They thought it was great fun to see who could move the biggest pieces or the most at once.

     Later on they decided it might be fun to camp in the forest under the stars. They searched for several long rides until they found the perfect spot about an hour’s ride away from their home. They built an elaborate shelter from saplings and brush and cleared space for a couple inflatable bubble tents, a fire pit and room for the children to run around. It was not exactly roughing it with the bubble tents as they came with most modern amenities, but sometimes they would lay on blankets under the night sky and look at the stars and moons and look for starships putting into orbit.

     Other times, they would take the children to the far points of Oltarin that were still being settled or to visit their friends Delmran and Casir and their families. They made it a point to gather a few times a year even when there are no special occasions to bring them together.

     Then there were the horse clans’ festivals in Blue Summit that gave them the chance to mingle with the first settlers of Oltarin. Their culture was a combination of that reminiscent of 19^th century Earth leaning toward that of a modern space faring world. The children thought it was all great fun.

Aside from Jamerin’s early dawning problems and psi-mating, Hankura and Chelle’s children had a happy and well-rounded childhood. As Orin saw that Jamerin didn’t abuse his abilities any further he discovered an honest affection for him that was mutual.

     As the children got older they spent much time with the younger children of Brandt and Jaecyn McKell. The McKells were their closest neighbors and the first friends their parents had made on Oltarin. They were also often included in the family gatherings that included Hankura’s and Chelle’s other friends.

     While the years seemed to pass slowly for the children who were eager to grow up and have all the freedoms of adults, the years passed all too quickly for the parents. Lanimer was the first to leave the fold.  He was a member of the first class of Master Med Techs to graduate from the new program. He’d shared his plans to return to Zevus Mar with Hankura and Chelle soon after they returned from Velran.

     Though sorry for him to leave, they were proud that he decided to return to the clinic his father had run there.  At twenty-one, Lanimer bore an uncanny resemblance to his dead father. It startled Hankura sometimes at the mannerisms Lanimer displayed that were so like Mikal’s. If only Mikal could have been there to see him, he would be proud of the man his son had become.

     Seeing Lanimer off on the Sential Trader, he thought back to his days on the Searching Star before the Tregans. He and Chelle had been looking forward to their leave on Zevus Mar for the chance to see Mikal and his family. Instead, they had gone back months later to help with the rebuilding of Zevus Mar.  With Casir’s help, he had instead found the three graves of Mikal and his wives that Orin Hart had dug for them after he couldn’t save them.

     At least Lanimer was saved. Now he was leaving, and they might never see him again. Now the years would pass even more quickly until the time the rest of their children would leave one by one. In two more years, Jamerin would be next. 

     Lanimer never regretted coming to Oltarin.  Nalina and Orin Hart coming too, helped.  They became one big family with Hankura and Chelle and their children.  When Lanimer was old enough, Hankura and Chelle shared memories with him of his parents and how they’d wanted to raise him on Zevus Mar. Now he was returning to Zevus Mar to one day raise his own family there.  Indeed, Mikal would have been proud.

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