by Heidi Skarie
STAR RIDER
AND THE
GOLDEN THREADS
HEIDI SKARIE
Blue Star Visions
Minnetonka, MN 55345-1128
USA
http://Bluestarvisions.com
Info@bluestarvisions
Copyright © 2018 by Harriet Skarie. Electronic Edition
Cover design by Courtney Cannon, Fiction-Atlas Press, LLC
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Reference
1. Skarie, Heidi 2. Science Fiction 3. Romantic Science Fiction 4. Visionary Fiction
.
To Asher, Austin and Cayden, my three grandsons, may they have lives filled with creativity and adventure
“The Sugmad sends its messengers into this world as warriors. None come as doves. They are the eagles who must seek food for the young. They are the shepherds who keep the wolves away from the flock.
“The Adepts for the ECK are the swordsmen of the Sugmad. Wherever they travel, the pace of karma is quickened.”
--Paul Twitchell
The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad Book one p. 4-5
*Sugmad is another word for the Supreme God
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The story reveals the exciting events that led up to Toemeka joining the Coalition and becoming an undercover operative.
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Contents
1. Attack on Temple of Light and Sound
2. Trouble at the Feniod Outpost
3. Michio’s Mission Revealed
4. Domed City of Kanai
5. School of Eagles
6. New Threats
7. Jaipar
8. Tension at the Royal Palace
9. Call for Help
10. City of Silver Light
11. Sniper
12. Jaipar Space Station
13. Mission on Flo Shah
14. Twelfth Test
15. New Dangers
16. Stranded in Space
17. Trouble at the Marsindi Palace
18. The Duel
19. Poisoned
20. Death’s Door
21. Antidote
22. Captured
23. Mission
24. Master Bakka
25. Coalition Starship
26. The Marsindi Palace
27. Stepping into Danger
28. Rescue Mission on Haklute
29. Attack on Jaipar
30. King Zanton’s Revenge
31. In the Hands of the Enemy
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Praise for Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge: Book One of the Star Rider Series
1
Attack on Temple of Light and Sound
Tismus, Jelmur on Planet Alandra
A spiraling, white galaxy loomed against the blackness of space ahead of Toemeka. To her right a glowing orange, blue and golden nebula illuminated the darkness, looking much like a vast multicolored cloud. Hard to believe such beauty was merely dust and debris.
She loved being out of her body in full consciousness, flying through space. But tonight, she wasn’t here for her own pleasure. All day she’d felt uneasy, sensing something terrible was about to happen.
But what? Show me. She focused her full attention on the feeling of darkness hovering at the edge of her consciousness.
Instantly, Toemeka was transported to another point in space. Before her was a fleet of immense Raptor starships under command of Samrat Condor, the merciless dictator who’d conquered many planets in the galaxy.
Fighters soared out of the starships and headed toward the planet below. Dread filled her. Who were they attacking? Moving closer, she recognized the shape of the planet’s landmasses. Alandra!
Alandra had been her home planet for the last seven years. She’d viewed it from this aerial perspective many times when leaving by spacecraft on missions for the Coalition of Free Nations.
The Coalition had recently intercepted and broke the codes on some cryptic messages sent between Raptor military stations. The messages revealed Raptor Forces planned to attack Alandra but didn’t reveal when or where the assault would take place.
Toemeka knew why Samrat Condor wanted Alandra. As a planet with plenty of water, lush forests, breathable air and a desirable climate, it could support human life. More importantly, Coalition Headquarters—the main force standing between the free world and Samrat Condor’s galactic-wide conquest—was on Alandra.
Fighters flew toward the country of Jelmur, the location of Coalition Headquarters. Toemeka shifted her awareness to a control room on one of the starships. A massive wall of monitors appeared before her. She studied the charts and found the location of key targets—Coalition Headquarters was the main one. She quickly studied other targets.
Her breath suddenly caught in her throat—the Temple of Light and Sound was on the list. She needed to warn them! Toemeka immediately teleported to the city of Talmiria in her Light Body and flew toward the temple.
Soon the building came into view with its tall columns, arches and golden-toned exterior. Mature weeping willows dominated the cultivated front grounds of the building. On one side was a lake with a large fountain and on the other grew a forest.
Far below her, parishioners entered the building for a morning worship service. Among them she spotted a tall, blond man. She gasped, recognizing his familiar walk and build. It was Erling, her close friend and former Coalition partner. With him were his parents and two sisters. How could she save them when she was in her Light Body? She watched helplessly as they disappeared into the building.
She and Erling had a strong inner connection; surely their bond would allow her to make contact with him. Toemeka flew through the roof and into the sanctuary where several hundred people gathered.
She quickly spotted Erling and his family near the front. Erling looked toward the stage as a priest walked out from behind the curtain. She landed in the aisle beside Erling, not knowing how to reach him.
Perhaps she could touch his mind with hers. Erling, it’s Toemeka. He turned in her direction with a puzzled frown. He sensed something but clearly hadn’t heard her inner message. Desperate, she concentrated on appearing before him. Gradually she became more solid, manifesting a semi-transparent form.
Erling’s eyes widened and he gasped, “Toemeka?”
The Temple is going to be bombed! she exclaimed telepathically. Get out now!
Unable to sustain even this ghost-like appearance, she faded away like a wisp of smoke. In her Light Body she watched as Erling sprang to his feet.
“A bomb! Everyone out! Hurry!” he yelled.
People turned toward him in confusion. Erling ran to the lobby with his sister, Breezy, right behind him. He tripped the fire alarm and a shrill siren blasted the air. Toemeka followed Erling and Breezy into the nursery and saw him lift a toddler into each of his arms.
“Get the children out!” he shouted to the teachers. Breezy scooped up a baby. Together Erling and Breezy hurried from the building into the sunlit day. One of the teachers followed them, herding a small group of children who were old enough to walk.
Get into the woods, Toemeka said inwardly to Erling, hoping he’d hear her. He ushered the teacher and chi
ldren into the shelter of the trees. Then he and Breezy raced back in.
“Be sure Mom and Dad are safe,” Erling said to Breezy. “I’ll get more of the children out.”
Breezy and Erling pushed their way through panicked people exiting the Temple. Breezy headed to the sanctuary. Toemeka stayed with Erling who lifted a sleeping baby from a nursery crib and grabbed the hand of a crying little girl. Children filled the hall as they left their classrooms. Outside, Erling handed the baby to a teenage girl.
“Get to the woods! Hurry!” he yelled. Fighter engines roared overhead. “Run!”
Take cover, Erling! Toemeka yelled.
People screamed as they ran from the Temple. Toemeka saw the woman who lived next door to Erling’s parents, looking around frantically, calling her son’s name.
Two sleek fighters appeared in the sky, bearing down on the Temple. Erling tore to the woods, yelling, “Get down!” A group of children near him sank onto the moss and leaves that lined the forest floor as a series of bombs dropped toward the ground.
The Temple exploded, jolting Erling and sending bricks and debris flying in all directions. Thick black smoke billowed up from the rumble where the Temple once stood and the bodies of wounded and dead littered the ground. Erling lay still, blood staining his forehead, and Toemeka was terrified that he was dead.
More fighters roared overhead and she saw them dropping bombs on other targets in the city of Talmiria. Buildings crumbled and the sky turned dark gray with mushroom clouds of smoke billowing from each location. The heaviest concentration of fighters attacked the Coalition Headquarters. She wished she was physically there, part of the Coalition aerial fleet defending the city and its people. She hated being so far away when they needed her.
At last Erling groaned and rolled to his side. Relief engulfed Toemeka—he was alive. Erling rose unsteadily to his feet and with his sleeve wiped away the blood trickling into his eye. His face was pale and he breathed shallowly as he stared at the remains of the Temple. Then he staggered forward yelling, “Mother! Breezy!”
Toemeka returned to her body on planet Ritlan with a jolt and began to shake. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed, sitting up in bed. “Raptor troops bombed the Temple of Light and Sound!”
“What?” Michio muttered sleepily, shifting his position in bed beside her. His voice was heavy with fatigue — he’d only been asleep a few hours. She hadn’t slept at all.
She turned on the bedside table lamp and lurched out of bed. “On planet Alandra, they’re bombing the city of Talmiria in Jelmur!”
“Was it a nightmare or—?”
She cut him off. “It’s real. Raptor air fleets are attacking right now. I saw it inwardly.” Her stomach churned as she slipped off her silk nightgown and grabbed her clothes.
“Where are you going?” Michio sounded a little more awake.
Toemeka tugged on a sweater and slacks. Breaking into a sweat, she sunk onto the bed and waited for the nausea to pass.
Michio put his arm around her. “Are you all right, love?”
“I feel a little queasy. God, I don’t have time to be sick.” She leaned against him, taking comfort in his solid presence. Gratitude filled her that she had him in her life. Newlyweds, they’d come here for a spiritual retreat after a disastrous honeymoon where Michio was attacked by Samrat Condor’s bounty hunters.
“I—I don’t know who’s alive,” she stammered. “Erling’s whole family may be dead.” She gazed into his emerald-green eyes, which were filled with love and concern. His tousled brown hair and unshaven face added a rakishness to his attractive looks.
They’d only met a few months ago when she was on a mission in Jaipar on planet Borko. Neither one was looking for a relationship, but they were drawn to each other and soon fell deeply in love. At the completion of their mission, her team was ordered to return to Coalition Headquarters. Instead, she took a leave of absence and stayed with Michio—a decision she hadn’t regretted until now.
“Is Erling okay?” Michio asked, his voice clouded with worry.
“He lived through the bombing.” She moved out of his arms. “A fleet of starships and many fighter squadrons are bombing the city. I have to tell the Coalition what I know about their targets and ships.”
“How will you contact them?”
“They have a secret base in Gorn Terra, just a few hundred miles from here. My friend Hendora worked there before transferring to Coalition Headquarters.”
“I’ll fly you there.” Michio began to dress.
“You’re not authorized.”
“You’re too distraught to fly an aircraft.”
“I’m an ace pilot. I can fly even when I’m distraught.”
Michio disappeared into the bathroom without replying.
Toemeka unlocked a secret side pocket in her travel bag, pulled out a small Juggernaut 50, a powerful energy gun, and slipped it into her pocket. Then she took out a laser disguised as a pen. It could kill when fired directly into an eye. She twisted her long, black hair into a chignon and used the laser-pen to hold it in place before pulling on her jacket.
Michio walked back into the room, grabbed his jacket and opened the door. “Ready?”
“It’s better if I go alone.” She stepped outside into the cold, dark night and breathed in the mountain air.
“I’ve done work for the Coalition for years. I’m sure it won’t be a problem if we go to the base together.”
Toemeka walked alongside him, not sure she liked Michio’s protectiveness.
Tall streetlights lit up the airstrip and she quickly spotted Michio’s Viper 4X, a sleek two-person spacecraft made for interplanetary travel, equipped with a full defense system, missiles and lasers. Once they were seated in the cockpit, helmets automatically lowered onto their heads and their seat belts snapped into place.
Michio turned on the ship’s computer and began the preflight check. Lights began flashing across the terminal and the computer said, Welcome aboard Michio and Toemeka. What’s your destination?
“Take us to the Nommi Desert, ZB,” Toemeka said.
What’s in the Nommi Desert?
Toemeka cocked an eyebrow. Computers weren’t usually curious. ZB was obviously enhanced. “A Coalition base.”
There is no record of this on my database.
“It’s a secret outpost.”
Michio started the twin engines and the ship shot smoothly into the air.
Her stomach rolled as she was pressed against the seat. She pulled out a stick of airsickness gum. As she began chewing on it, she gazed thoughtfully at the extensive instrument panel. A Viper 4X was an expensive aircraft. Most ships of this caliber were owned by the military, not individuals. “Where did you get this ship?” she asked.
“From my employers.”
“Who are?”
“They prefer to remain anonymous. They escaped from a planet Samrat Condor attacked, then built the secret domed city on the moon where I live. The city provides a home for refugees from planets Raptor forces have taken over, especially Initiates of Master Bakka. My employers are working to defeat Samrat Condor and sent me to Jaipar to assist the local resistance and the Coalition in overthrowing General Bhandar,” he said, referring to the mission they’d just completed.
“They allow you to have it for personal use as well? This retreat can’t be part of an assignment from them.” She realized there was still a lot she didn’t know about her new husband.
“This spiritual retreat is in line with their goals. I need specialized training to fight Condor’s black magic.”
The hair’s rose on the back of Toemeka’s neck. “You’re being trained to fight Samrat Condor and you didn’t think to mention this earlier!”
“Hopefully not him directly but his power.”
“We’re not through discussing this, but I need to get some sleep. I still feel light-headed.” She closed her eyes.
Some time later, Michio woke her when they neared the Coalition base. Through the wind
shield, she saw the vast Nommi Desert. She contacted the base on a Coalition radio frequency and identified herself and the aircraft. Ground control gave her exact coordinates and clearance to land.
When they reached the location, a large metal door in the ground slid open. Michio flew the Viper inside and landed in a small landing bay near other ships. When they disembarked, six uniformed guards surrounded them.
Toemeka’s whole body tensed—she hadn’t expected this reception.
2
Trouble at the Feniod Outpost
Planet Ritlan
Toemeka immediately recognized the guards were of the Feniod race, a warrior race with a strict code of conduct who admire honor and courage above all else. The short, solidly-built men had broad, flat faces and black hair. Toemeka was as tall as most of the men and Michio towered over them. She knew they’d be hard to deal with from working with Hendora Radmeer on her last mission.
“Let’s see your identification,” the nearest guard said, speaking the universal tongue. Toemeka pulled out a small ID card and pressed her thumb against it. It turned the desired green color proving it was her card.
“So you are a Coalition field agent.” He tipped his head toward Michio. “Who is the man with you?”
“My husband, Michio Kimes.”
“Why did you bring him?”
“Toemeka isn’t feeling well, so I flew here with her,” Michio interjected before she could think of a better response. Toemeka frowned in annoyance. She didn’t want the guards to know her weakness. She prided herself on being tough in the male-dominated, Coalition military world.
“I’m an Ahimsa warrior and have worked with the Coalition many times,” Michio continued.
“Where’s your identification?”
Michio handed him a picture ID. “It gives a fake name. I don’t carry my real ID. It’s too dangerous. I work in places where I could get carded by a Raptor soldier—Samrat Condor has a bounty on my head.”
Toemeka stared at Michio in surprise. She wished he’d told her that before she’d agreed to let him fly with her.