“Remember to breathe, wren bird.”
“That’s the least of my worries!” Sweat beaded on LaRenna’s pale forehead. “I’m pushing out a damn ground melon!”
Tatra rubbed on her patient’s taut stomach, trying to soothe away some of the pain with a phase. No, LaRenna, it’s just a baby. Autlach women have been doing this for hundreds of thousands of passes. If they can do it, Taelachs can, too, probably better.
Belsas and Chandrey were still tying their loose robes about their waists when they burst into the apartment. “Why isn’t she in the birthing suite?” Belsas moved to the side so Chandrey could take Tatra’s place at LaRenna’s head. The healer joined Krell for her own examination as the urge to push overwhelmed LaRenna again.
“Atta girl, wren bird!” encouraged Krell. “Count it out. One, two—”
All present lent their support by counting along. “Three, four—”
“FIVESIXSEVENEIGHTNINETEN!” LaRenna moaned. “It doesn’t help!”
“There wasn’t time to take her to the med unit, Grandmaster Belsas,” said Tatra. “It happened too rapidly. The head crowned about the time they got this far.”
“Tatra!” Krell jerked the healer’s attention back to the immediate matter. “The head is in the canal. Is that what I think?”
“The cord!” Tatra reached to untangle the cord, but it was pulled too tightly around the infant’s throat.
“Midwife’s here.” Firman’s smile faded when he saw the despair wrenching across Tatra’s slender face.
“Hurry up,” begged Chandrey. “There’s a problem.” LaRenna wriggled in her arms while clutching the hand Krell extended.
Firman returned a few seconds later with the midwife bent across his shoulder. “Here she is!”
The midwife struggled out of his grasp and slid from her perch. “Put me down, young man, before I give you the spanking a spoiled child deserves. What could be so urgent that you need to abduct me in the dark of night?” She dropped her wrap when she saw what was happening. “Merciful heavens! The Taelach are finally breeding.” Her hands were warm on LaRenna’s quivering leg and her voice was unmistakably familiar. “Hello, young woman, we meet again.”
“Nyla Smalls.” LaRenna smiled weakly. “I was hoping I’d see you again some day. Never dreamed it would be like this.”
“Me neither, child. Now let’s see what we have here.” Nyla examined her charge but looked unconcerned about the tightly wrapped cord. “I need the assistance of all three of you stronger types. One of you hold her upper body and the other two hold her legs. This baby needs air.”
Krell took her position at LaRenna’s head, while Belsas and Firman, faces turned respectfully away, each steadied a leg. “All right, mother.” Nyla rubbed cleanser into her wrinkled palms. “Next contraction don’t push. We must free the cord.”
LaRenna took an apprehensive breath as the urge to push resumed. Nyla looked straight at her as she inserted her hands to pull at the cord. LaRenna sobbed over the extra pressure that invaded her.
“I know it’s painful, child, but we must, it’s almost, yes, there it is. It’s free!” Nyla wiped her hands on a towel. “I believe that strapping babe is ready to come out. Everyone except the father, no, guardian, needs to leave.” Firman readily fled the room, but Belsas and Chandrey lingered, unwilling to go until Nyla asked them a second time. “Please, Grandmaster Taelach, you and your lady must leave. Things will go better if you wait in another place. This is a moment for the parents alone. My presence is medical only.”
The elders left without further complaint. It wouldn’t do to argue with the midwife. She appeared to have matters well in hand.
“It’s time.” Nyla gave LaRenna an experienced smile. “With the next one, you will push harder than you ever thought possible.” She pointed to Tatra’s emergency kit, motioning for the healer to spread it in front of her. She selected a small blade and doused it in cleanser.
LaRenna gasped when the pressure became acute. She had to get rid of it, the sooner the better. It was ripping her in half. Krell drew against her, supporting her by wrapping under LaRenna’s arms as she prodded her for an open connection. “Let me in, wren bird.” A nauseating wash of pain in Krell’s groin and back signified the open channel. So this was what labor was like. No wonder most Autlach women opted for the relief of drugs.
“Are you linked?” Tatra watched Nyla intently, wondering what she intended to do with the blade. “Krell?”
“Mother help me,” whispered Krell in a high pitch. “But this is intense.”
“Inform me when you feel the start of another contraction.” Nyla wished Autlach fathers could obtain the understanding Krell was. “Either of you.” She was careful to keep the blade from LaRenna’s sight. “Is the male who rushed outside the birth father?”
“No,” Tatra replied before Krell managed to say something less than civil on the matter. “This child is pure Taelach. I’ll explain how after this is over.” Nyla’s expression became puzzled, but she left the matter alone as LaRenna began to shake.
“Now?” asked Nyla, knife ready.
“NOW!” Krell could feel the pressure and sting of the cold blade as it sliced into LaRenna’s undercarriage. The baby slid out of the birth canal to the shoulders. Nyla cleared the infant’s nose and mouth, explaining her actions to Tatra as she worked. “When the child is this large”—she cleared the baby’s eyes—“the cut keeps tearing to a minimum, reduces infection, and makes healing faster.”
“I see,” replied Tatra. “This is all so new.”
“And almost over. All right, LaRenna, make this contraction your last. Deliver the shoulders and it will be finished. Help her, guardian. She’s tired. This labor has been hard and fast.”
Krell nodded and mustered her strength. One more time, Wren bird. Let’s bring our child into the world. LaRenna remained silent but squeezed the arms cradling her. Together, they concentrated on the effort. There was a shot of squelching agony then a sudden release.
“The baby,” whispered LaRenna. “Let us see her.”
“Soon.” Nyla knotted then cut the cord and rubbed the child with a towel, trying to stimulate a breathing response in the still, blue child. “Come on, cry for Nyla.” She massaged the infant vigorously until it gasped, skin soon glowing the ruddy pink of new life as its whimper grew to an angry squall. “There we are.” Nyla sighed. “Get mad and cry. It’s healthy for you. Lets everyone know you’ve arrived.”
“Let us see her,” repeated Krell.
Nyla finished cleaning the wailing infant and wrapped it in a towel. “Soon.” She stood silently over the child, gazing into her face.
“Please.” LaRenna filled with the pain a few Autlach mothers felt when their Taelach children were ripped from them. “Is something wrong with her?”
“Nothing at all,” replied Tatra, who was assisting in the delivery of the afterbirth. “Nothing at all.” She took the infant from Nyla and turned to them. “She thinks you’re impatient.”
“The midwife?” queried Krell.
“No,” cooed LaRenna as Tatra placed the infant in her arms, “our daughter thinks we’re impatient.” The new family cuddled on the lounger, Krell holding LaRenna and their child close. The infant ceased her crying, parted her pale blue eyes, and opened her mouth in a large, toothless yawn.
“Hello, young one,” said Krell as the newborn’s eyes fixated on her. “I’m your guardian parent, your sire, your gahrah. The beautiful lady holding you is your mother. Did you know you are the first true Taelach ever born? That makes you special. You’re one of a kind, just like your mom.”
LaRenna gazed at the little face that peered up at them. It was so similar to her own—round and glowing. Shades of Krell were present as well, evident every time the baby crinkled her forehead or raised her eyebrows in that peculiar manner all the Middle family seemed capable of. “Hello sweetheart,” said her mother. “We’ve been waiting for you. Your gahrah is right. You’re special.
You’re ours and we love you.”
A new presence opened up in the mental link between the soul phasers, unexpected but soft and familiar in its touch. It didn’t exactly express words, more like a stream of mental images depicting happiness, contentment, and love, even a slight amount of hunger. The infant blinked, her pudgy fist finding its way to her mouth, one mental picture projecting stronger than the rest. It was one of identity, self-awareness, a name—Jenza.
“Greetings, Jenza Mallen Krell,” whispered Krell, unable to withhold the emotions that were already showering LaRenna’s face. “The future is now and it’s all yours. You’ve brought the Taelach full circle with your arrival. Welcome to the world.”
Sarian People, Places, and Words
aerolaunch. Mode of transportation used by the Taelach and Autlach for long-distance travel.
Asabane Tackwell. Starnes Banes’s father.
Autlach. Indigenous species to Saria Two, the second planet orbiting Sixty-One Cygni, short and stocky humanoids with dark features. Also called Aut for short.
bandit beast. Large, bison-like species native to and extinct on Saria Two but successfully reestablished by the Taelach on Saria Three.
battle braid. Taelach marker of battle victories and military rank worn in the hair.
Belsas Exzal. Taelach of All, life mate of Chandrey Belsas, guardian raiser of LaRenna Belsas.
bitterwine. Thick unsweetened berry wine.
blood marking. Archaic Taelach commitment ceremony; nuptials.
Brandoff Creiloff. Twin of Cance Creiloff, drug-addicted guardian and escapee from Trimar prison colony.
Cance Creiloff. Twin sister of Brandoff Creiloff, drug-addicted guardian, former Kimshee second officer in Silver Kinship, Chandrey Belsas’s ex-life mate and escapee from the Taelach Trimar prison colony.
Chandrey Belsas. Raiser of LaRenna Belsas, life mate of Belsas Exzal, former life mate of Cance Creiloff.
crystal. Silicone substance found naturally on Saria Two, used for windows and containers; comparable to glass.
Death Stone. Marker used to record names of Autlachs buried in communal graves.
Farstar. Sixth planet in the Sarian system and location of the Trimar prison colony.
Firman Middle. Autlach brother of Krell Middle.
Firewall. First planet and uninhabitable world in Sarian solar system.
gahrah. Term of endearment Taelach daughters use for their guardian raiser.
grand master. Highest rank in the Silver Kinship military officer hierarchy.
guardian. Taelach who chooses to live in a more masculine role; butch.
healer. Autlach or Taelach physician.
Hiding Cave. Taelach stronghold containing items necessary for survival during times of trouble.
hunt. Outdated Autlach practice of capturing Taelachs for ritual execution or use as slaves.
Iralian commitment. A highly evolved reptilian species known for eating captives alive as a means of torture, originating in a star system near the Sarian system.
land-sculpting. Taelach process of terraforming (earth-shaping) a planet or moon in order to make it habitable.
Langus. Only moon of Saria Two and main agricultural resource for the Autlach.
LaRenna Belsas. True female daughter of Chandrey and Belsas Exzal, Silver Kinship Kimshee and junior officer apprenticed to First Officer Kimshee Krell Middle.
launch. Overland mode of transportation used by the Taelach and Autlach for short-distance travel.
life braid. Taelach marker of family and clan affiliation worn in the hair.
life mate. An oathed Taelach.
Kimshee. Silver Kinship military officers trained in diplomacy, Autlach customs, and advanced telepathy.
Krell Middle. Autlach-raised guardian Taelach, and First Officer Kimshee in Silver Kinship military.
Malley Whellen. Third officer engineer and LaRenna Belsas’s roommate during officer training.
moon cycle. Thirty days on the Sarian calendar, comparable to one month.
Mother Maker. Taelach deity comparable to Gaia.
Myeflar. Moon of the planet Firewall, destroyed by the Iralian commitment during their initial invasion of the Sarian solar system.
pain phase. Lesser used of the two types of Taelach telepathic phases. It produces pain ranging from minor discomfort to death depending on the energy used by the originator.
Pass. Four hundred and twenty days completing the Sarian calendar, comparable to one year.
planetary launch. Mode of transportation used by the Taelach and Autlach for interplanetary travel.
pleasure phase. Taelach telepathic phase that creates sensations varying from enjoyable conversation to sexual ecstasy.
Prock. Native plant of Farstar; an addictive stimulant when inhaled.
Raskhallak. Popular Autlach deity that openly condemns the Taelach.
Saria. An uninhabited giant gas planet second closest to the sun in the Sarian star system, a collection of six planets and their respective moons orbiting Sixty-One Cygni; another name for the Sarian solar system.
Saria Two. Third planet orbiting Sixty-One Cygni, planet of origin for the Autlach and Taelach.
Saria Three. Fourth planet in the Sarian Star system land-sculpted by the Taelach and home to the Sarian High Counsel.
Saria Four. Fifth planet in the Sarian Star system terraformed by the Taelach and home to the Taelach military officers’ Training Grounds.
Silver Kinship. Governing body of the Taelach.
Sixty-One Cygni. A yellow dwarf star in the Milky Way thought to be similar to Earth’s sun.
soul phase. Deepest of Taelach pleasure phases used by long term couples for intimacy and healing.
Starnes Bane. Autlach owner of Waterlead Bar, son of Asabane Tackwell.
Strong’s Disease. Disease of the nervous system common in elderly Autlachs; fatal if untreated.
Taelach. A subspecies of the Autlach who are all born female, pale-skinned, willowy in build, sterile and telepathic.
Talmshone. Spy for the Iralian commitment and co-conspirator with the Creiloff twins.
Tatra Wileyse. Taelach Healer and first officer in Silver Kinship.
Trazar Laiman. Autlach brother of LaRenna Belsas, mid-ranking Autlach enlisted military.
Trimar. Taelach prison colony located on Farstar.
true female. Taelach capable of childbearing. Vartoch. Moon of Saria Three.
About the Author
Jeanne G’Fellers, her partner, and three children (two being those testy creatures called teenagers) live in Tennessee, where they share half an acre with two cats, a three-foot-long water dragon lizard, a dozen pampered Arbor Day trees and two gar-dens—one for herbs, the other for veggies. When not shuttling children or rescuing cats from the roof, Jeanne attends a local university where she also works as a graduate assistant.
No Sister of Mine is Jeanne’s first novel.
Publications from Bella Books, Inc
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NO SISTER OF MINE by Jeanne G’Fellers. 240 pp. Telepathic women fight to coexist with a patriarchal society that wishes their eradication. ISBN 1-59493-017-1 $12.95
ON THE WINGS OF LOVE by Megan Carter. 240 pp. Stacie’s reporting career is on the rocks. She has to interview bestselling author Cheryl, or else! ISBN 1-59493-027-9 $12.95
WICKED GOOD TIME by Diana Tremain Braund. 224 pp. Does Christina need Miki as a protector . . . or want her as a lover? ISBN 1-59493-031-7 $12.95
THOSE WHO WAIT by Peggy J. Herring. 240 pp. Two brillian sisters—in love with the same woman! ISBN 1-59493-032-5 $12.95
ABBY’S PASSION by Jackie Calhoun. 240 pp. Abby’s bipolar sister helps turn her world upside down, so she must decide what’s most important. ISBN 1-59493-014-7 $12.95
PICTURE PERFECT by Jane Vollbrecht. 240 pp. Kate is reintroduced to
Casey, the daughter of an old friend. Can they withstand Kate’s career? ISBN 1-59493-015-5 $12.95
PAPERBACK ROMANCE by Karin Kallmaker. 240 pp. Carolyn falls for tall, dark and . . . female . . . in this classic lesbian romance. ISBN 1-59493-033-3 $12.95
DAWN OF CHANGE by Gerri Hill. 240 pp. Susan ran away to find peace in remote Kings Canyon—then she met Shawn . . . ISBN 1-59493-011-2 $12.95
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE by Lynne Jamneck. 240 pp. Is a killer holding a grudge against FBI Agent Samantha Skellar? ISBN 1-59493-012-0 $12.95
SEASONS OF THE HEART by Jackie Calhoun. 240 pp. Overwhelmed, Sara saw only one way out—leaving . . . ISBN 1-59493-030-9 $12.95
TURNING THE TABLES by Jessica Thomas. 240 pp. The 2nd Alex Peres Mystery. From ghosties and ghoulies and long leggity beasties . . . ISBN 1-59493-009-0 $12.95
FOR EVERY SEASON by Frankie Jones. 240 pp. Andi, who is investigating a 65-year-old murder, meets Janice, a charming district attorney . . . ISBN 1-59493-010-4 $12.95
LOVE ON THE LINE by Laura DeHart Young. 240 pp. Kay leaves a younger woman behind to go on a mission to Alaska . . . will she regret it? ISBN 1-59493-008-2 $12.95
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