Star Rider and Bonds of Love: A Sci-Fi Space Opera with a Touch of Fantasy Heidi Skarie (fox in socks read aloud .TXT) 📖

He landed the Viper 4X near theircountry home that lay at the edge of the mountains. Once in thehouse, he dashed upstairs. “Where are you?”

“In the nursery,” she calledback.

He found her folding baby clothesinto a drawer. Upon seeing him, a smile lit her lovely face. Herlong, black hair hung in loose curls down her back and she wore ablue dress that bulged out around her large belly. She looked thevery picture of motherhood.

“I’m glad you’re home.”She held a small baby sleeper in her hands that looked as if it wasmade for a doll rather than a real baby.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”he asked, giving her a kiss.

“It’s better if I move aroundand I want to be sure the baby’s room is ready for him.” She’dpainted the ceiling blue with soft fluffy clouds and over the cribshe’d hung a mobile of the planets in their solar system.

“How are your contractions?”

“Still irregular. They—”she stopped mid-sentence, breathing deeply, then spread a blueblanket in the crib.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I don’twant you fretting over me.” She looked at him with a softexpression in her brown eyes.

Michio drew her into his arms.“I’ll try not to.”

“Pretty soon when you kiss me,there won’t be this baby bulge between us,” she said, placing herhands on her swollen womb. “And I can go back to being slender andpretty.”

“You’re beautiful pregnant.You have a special glow about you.” A feeling of overwhelming lovespread through him.

***

As the evening wore on, Toemeka’scontractions continued to be irregular. She sat on the bed, editing amanuscript Michio had about the experiences he’d had in his searchfor enlightenment. Through reading it, she was coming to a muchgreater understanding of her husband. His training began in hisyouth. When he was a toddler, his mother taught him how to travel outof his body and into the Inner Worlds. He told about his love offlying in the clouds and the games he played with one of the Masters.

She was amazed at how focused hislife was, down to his singleness of purpose in his consuming desireto find Truth. His love for God had always been the center of hislife. She paused in her reading as a contraction tightened across herabdomen. Once it passed, she turned to the next chapter of themanuscript and continued reading.

WhenI was seventeen, Master Bakka, the spiritual leader of the SecretTeachings, sent me and another student named Bhandar to stop SamratCondor’s invasion of the free worlds. During our mission, Bhandarwas seduced by Condor’s dark power and betrayed me.

“You should try to sleep,”Michio said, interrupting her reading. He sat on the bed next to her.

“I can’t relax enough tosleep.” She tensed with the next contraction.

“Breathe through it.”

Once it was over she said, “I’menjoying your manuscript. It amazes me how well you remembereverything you experience in the Inner Worlds. I have a hard timebringing it all back.”

“Someday the veils will bedrawn and you’ll have clearer recall.”

Toemeka set down the pages andturned off the light. They both lay down and she cuddled up next toMichio so her back was to his chest.

“I love you, Star Rider,”Michio said, addressing her affectionately by her call sign.

“And I love you. Learn anythinginteresting while you were at the palace?”

“Captain Zachary just got backfrom Haklute. He thinks there’s going to be problems with KingZanton and that he shouldn’t be allowed to rule, even as afigurehead. Erling, however, won’t break his promise to Zanton.”

“What do you think is best?”She stiffened, drawing in a sharp breath.

“You’re having anothercontraction, aren’t you?” Michio asked, holding her more closelyto him.

“Yes, but please continue; Ineed the diversion.”

“It’s not clear-cut whatErling should do. King Zanton is dangerous, but it’s good thatErling is acting from a high sense of ethics rather than fear.”After the contraction passed, Michio kissed her tenderly. “Restnow. We’ll talk later.” He reached up to turn off the light.

Toemeka tried to sleep, but thecontractions made it impossible. She lay in bed listening to Michio’sdeep, even breathing and wished she could rest, even if it was justfor a short time. Rising from bed, she sat in an armchair and lookedout at the starry night, glad their baby would soon be born. She’dfinally get to see him and hold him in her arms.

Early in her pregnancy she had adream with her brother Baymond who’d been killed by Samrat Condor’ssoldiers eight years earlier. He told her she was going to have a boyand she held the baby, awash in love for him. Up until that momentshe had mixed feelings about being pregnant since she was still aCoalition field operative.

Whydon’t you come, little one?she thought. I’mtired of being fat and pregnant. Being in labor isn’t much funeither.She closed her eyes, relaxed her body and sang her soul song. Soonshe felt uplifted and raised in consciousness. Inwardly shevisualized the small infant with fine, dark baby-hair covering hishead. The image of a baby disappeared and was replaced by a bluelight.

“I am always with you,”Master Bakka, her inner guide, said. “Don’t be afraid. Trust inSpirit. God is Love. Love is all.”

A sharp pain sliced through herand the inner vision disappeared. She breathed deeply with thecontraction and gradually it went away.

She thought about the Master’swords. “Don’t be afraid.” Was he talking about the birth? Hadhe come to reassure her? Would the labor be difficult? She let go ofher fear. She had an inner knowingness that she was taken care of, nomatter how difficult the labor and delivery. She felt the reason theMaster came to her was more than that. He’d reminded her of God’slove and trust; she sensed someday it might be all she’d have todepend upon.

A chill went through her and shesensed darkness just outside her conscious mind. She tuned into itmore fully. A large man appeared. As his image came more clearly intofocus, she recognized him as Cadmus. Horrified, she gripped thearmrest of the chair and gritted her teeth in pain as the nextcontraction hit, too tense and upset to relax. Gradually, thediscomfort eased.

Toemeka wondered about themeaning of her ominous inner vision. Cadmus