Priestess of the Heavens

They could not stop laughing. There was pure euphoria in their newfound communion. It was the end. They knew there would be tough times ahead, that even with their Edens in space -- the journey would not be easy. Yet, they were not alone. They were together - a society.

Grace, always the saucy one, was the one to make the suggestion.

"Full disclosure," said Grace. "We all know that things have happened - exciting things, wondrous things. Things so amazing and inconceivable they even made our Kari here -- the most confirmed and adamant lesbian I have ever known -- these things transpired to even lead Kari into the arms of a man. As attractive as Pax is, I never would have believed that possible. So, what I propose is that each of us tell one story about things that happened. One each, and make it a good one."

The mood changed a bit. Grace's proposal brought the sexual tension in the group directly to the surface- as well as the embarrassment lurking...at least for the three of them. Grace didn't seem to have any hang-ups, anywhere.

"Very well," said Kari. "But since you proposed it, you go first."

"I will then," said Grace, musing. "What to tell, what to tell? We've got that time, and that time and... I know."

She gave Kyriana a particularly sly grin.

"As you might notice," began Grace. "I have particularly small hands."

"Noo!" shrieked Kyriana, turning seven shades of red.

"Oh yes, Kyri," said Grace, "it must come out."

Kyri slowly sank into the water until only her eyes were visible. She would frequently dip all the way down during certain parts of the tale. She eventually got over it though, and listened with a more resigned nature.

As Grace finished the story, both Kari and Pax sat open-mouthed.

"Your whole hand?" asked Kari incredulously.

"Oh yeah," said Grace. "All the way up to here, I'd guess."

She indicated a spot well below her wrist.

"Kyri here had been so long without a man she just had to be 'filled all the way' as she put it.

Kyriana came to her own defense at that point.

"I just want to point out a couple of things. A) We had consumed a lot of sake, B) I could barely walk for a couple of days after and C) as Grace mentioned, she has very small hands. So, Mister Pax, don't you dare be entertaining any such notions with those massive paws of yours."

Pax went next, choosing to tell the story of the very first hand job Kari had surprised him with. Next went Kyriana, relating the romantic and sensuous birthday Grace had treated her to. As the stories were related the two couples drifted closer together. By the end of Kyriana's story, she was working Pax slowly beneath the surface of the pool and Grace was seated in Kari's lap, Kari's hands busy with activities of their own.

The turn came to Kari and she knew exactly which tale to tell. She extracted herself from Grace and moved to stand in the pool, her torso visible from the waist up. The waterfall at the far end framed her. She knew exactly what she was doing. This would be no casual story, but a performance worthy of the tale she would tell.

"Here and attend, oh best beloved," she said with a serious smile. "For you are about to hear the tale of how Kari, a lover of women, took the handsome Pax to her bed in joyful service of procreation."

She told the tale with reverence and humor -- things any good story should have. Grace and Kyriana were captivated. Even Pax, who had lived through it, found himself entranced by the story and enthralled by Kari's mesmerizing tones.

She relayed both the sacred, spiritual drive she had experienced as well as the fierce emotional battle that had boiled within her. She described the odd foreign, unnatural feeling of Pax within her but also confessed the deep and profound pleasure of feeling Pax's life-fluid surging into her womb.

As her story drew near the end, the entire atmosphere of the group had changed. It was no longer a lustful or randy feeling, but somber and serious.

Kari had told the entire story in third-person. Her goal had been to tell it with some removal, to remind Grace and Kyriana, as well as herself and Pax, that they were merely players -- objects in a grander scheme. Their lives were no longer theirs, but belonged to helping the future of their incredible yet destructive race.

"And so," she concluded, "Kari was not a lesbian or a 'converted' girl. She was alone. She was floating in solitude out in the cosmos, looking down on a beloved planet where her sisters and brothers were dying. At that dark and lonely moment, Kari was a human female imbued with the spirit Inanna -- of Gaia, and yes, of God the Creator. In the arms of her handsome lover, she found love and made life. She stands with her chin proud and unashamed. She looks now, to the future."

They all sat in silence, stunned at Kari's eloquence and moved at her spiritual devotion.

"You have to tell that again," insisted Grace. "I could hear that a million times and never get tired of it."

"Perhaps," said Kari, "if the mood strikes me."

"I can tell you what kind of mood has struck me," said Grace, "and Kari, if you don't get me in bed quick I'll be taking advantage of that shepherd sitting over there."

"I think Kyriana might have some objections to that," said Kari with a laugh. "Come on, Grace. Let's get this party started."

She took Grace's hand and led her out of the pool. With a nod to Pax, she beckoned him to follow. He took Kyriana's hand and walked down the path to the 'sacred grove' where there were now two beds set up. They were not directly next to each other, but about six meters apart -- though there was no screen to separate them.

Kari led Grace to one bed and bade her to sit down, then she turned back to Pax and Kyriana. First, she hugged Pax and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

"Goodbye Pax," she whispered.

Next she took Kyriana aside and hugged her as well. Then she kissed her softly and brushed a tender hand over Kyriana's cheek. She leaned to the side and whispered into the lovely Australian's ear.

"From my lips to yours, I pass on my lover's kiss."

"Thank you," whispered Kyriana with a smile.

"Just one thing," Kari whispered. "You have two chances at having a child of your own. All of the others will have to come from the stock here. As tempting as it is right now with this mood, I'd urge you to wait until we're all together, yeah?"

Kyriana nodded and reached under her arm, tapping her implant and released the right hormones to assure there would be no child made that evening.

"What did she say to you?" asked Pax when she joined him on the bed.

"Oh, just girl talk," said Kyriana slyly.

"I know we've just met," said Pax, "but you're not a very good liar."

Kyriana silenced him with a kiss.

The passion soon overtook them and each couple was locked in their own fierce embrace.

For Kari and Grace it was an odd feeling of excitement mixed with ease, each of their hands finding the other's body with the familiarity of one-time lovers. Grace was always quick on the trigger and she gasped out her first orgasm in the space of less than a couple of minutes -- though there were many more to come.

Kyriana giggled at the familiar moans coming from the other bed.

"I guess we'd better get going," she said. "We're barely even started."

"If you insist," Pax said and flipped her over onto her back.

He waited then, poised to slide into her.

"Are you ready?"

"Oh yeah," she said, and then she giggled again.

"What's so funny now?" he asked, bemused.

"Oh, just a funny wordplay. You're going from Kari to Kyri. Even if you call out my name, I might not know if you get it wrong."

"Lucky for me then," said Pax.

Kyriana's next sounds were nothing more than a gasp as Pax slid into her in one fluid motion, burying himself clear to the hilt and stopping there, fully ensheathed in her more-than-ready moistness.

When at last she could speak, she could still barely get the words out.

"Oh my god, Pax. I can't move. I've never, never, never felt anything like this. I truly think I've forgotten how to move."

"You can't move, huh?" asked Pax. "What if I do this?"

He moved out a bit, then back in. Her hips responded instinctively to his motion.

"Well, maybe I can. Maybe I can remember a little," she murmured.

"How about this?"

He moved even further out, then back in with more authority.

"Yes, yes. That's just the... Oh, Pax."

On the other bed, Kari and Grace were locked in a deep embrace. Grace's hand was massaging Kari toward her first climax of the evening. She felt it growing inside of her but was happy that Grace wasn't rushing things. Kari loved nothing more than the slow build, because the results at the end were always the most explosive.

It seemed as though there was some sort of connection between she and Pax, because he was taking his time as well. He and Kyriana had fallen into a slow, steady rhythm that seemed it could go on forever. Kyriana was certainly reaping the benefits of Pax's patience, because a few minutes later her first orgasm arrived and she clutched desperately to him as the shuddering waves rolled through her.

As Kyriana lay recovering, Pax glanced over to Kari and their eyes met. She smiled softly, and even in the growing pleasure, blew him a kiss.

Minutes later, Pax had increased his speed and Grace was massaging perfect circles on Kari's clitoris. Kari's breath was growing shorter and her moans were getting louder. As the orgasm erupted through her she heard Pax's own cries, somehow tied to hers.

Pax felt spurt after spurt of cum shooting into Kyriana and marveled himself at the quantities that seemed to be contained within his body. At the feeling of his cream filling her, Kyriana was spurred onto a second orgasm... at which point Grace, applying her free hand to herself, pitched over into bliss as well.

Sometime later, the two sets of lovers lay exhausted and fully satiated in each their partner's arms.

Kyriana's hands drifted playfully across Pax's chest, she gazed at him blissfully as he yielded to a much-deserved slumber.

"Pax," she whispered, knowing he couldn't hear her. "I know we've just met, and I know we'll both have choices -- but I think I love you, as silly as that sounds.

Kari also couldn't sleep. She slipped away from the dozing Grace and made her way to the waterfall. Kyriana slipped away as well and sat down in silence beside Kari at the edge of the pool. It was 'night' in this section of the wheel and they were able to look up at the luminescent Milky Way spreading out through the endless heavens.

"Kari," asked Kyriana, "could you tell me more about this Inanna?"

***

20 Years Later

***

Kari was dashing about madly. The kids were dressed, but the challenge now was to keep them clean and off the field before the ceremonies.

"Patricia!" she called.

Her daughter, named after Kari's last lover on earth, entered the room. Kari still marveled at the way Patricia combined the traits of her two parents so remarkably. She had Pax's deeper toned skin, yet had somehow gotten the blond gene from Kari's side of the family -- giving her a hypnotically alluring look that nearly everyone found irresistible.

Kari couldn't help but grin at the picture her daughter presented. Born of two races, she had her own child on one hip -- Brandon -- from her first partner, and on the other hip Patricia carried her youngest sister -- Kari's daughter from in vitro. A dark-skinned child from the genes of Africa, Abena was a bright and mirthful child of two.

"What do you need, mum?" asked Patricia.

Even Patricia's speech was a hybrid -- a dialect merged from the many parents who had helped raise her, not the least of which being Kyriana in her first ten years of life.

"Do you know where I put my lapis lazuli necklace?"

"Up on the top shelf of your closet -- the kids kept going after it."

"That's right," said Kari, smacking her forehead. "I need your young mind to help me out."

"You're not that old, mum," said Patricia.

"Tell my hips that," Kari said with chagrin.

Kari donned her robe and her necklace. Patricia handed the kids off to Nikolay, her partner, and helped Kari to prepare her hair.

Kari's adopted daughter Nuying, born from her former partner Jiao, entered the room to watch. She and Jiao had enjoyed a good fifteen years together but had drifted apart. Jiao was now living in the first array and Kari found herself too busy to find another partner. Beyond that, she was perfectly content.

Nuying was fifteen and quite the handful. She was one of the most vocal youths petitioning to have children before the age of eighteen -- but the population board had been adamant on that stricture. Quality before quantity. Every wheel citizen should have a proper childhood and education before taking on the responsibilities of parenthood.

"Mum," asked Nuying, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course, dear," answered Kari. "I can't promise I'll answer it, but you can ask."

Nuying pouted, but persevered.

"What happens in the second ceremony?"

Patricia and Kari exchanged a quick glance, but said nothing.

"What second ceremony, dear?" asked Kari.

She continued looking in the mirror, applying makeup as Patricia labored at her hair.

"Fuck mom, everyone knows there's one. You have the Equinox celebration and then a group of grownups stays back with the kids and you all disappear into Section 3 on Wheel 23."

"Do we? And watch your language."

"What happens?!"

"Very well," said Kari, turning to face Nuying. "Something does happen, and it's private. It's more private and sacred than you can appreciate. No one, I mean, no one gets to go until after they've had their first child. No exceptions, and no 'spoilers'. No one will tell you about it, not even your lovely sister here."

"Come on Patty!" cried Nuying. "Tell me when she's not around."

"A) You wouldn't understand. B) You're too young," insisted Patricia. "The answer is no, and you can ask every adult aboard and they'll tell you the same."

"I am an adult, I've been mitzvahed -- by you, Mum!" cried Nuying. "You yourself said I was ready to take on the role of adult."

"You're twisting my words," said Kari. "In the ceremony, I tell young people they are ready to start down the path of being an adult, not that they are one. Your behavior right now certainly tells me you aren't there yet."

Nuying ran off in a rage, crying about unfairness and selfishness. Her cries fell on deaf ears.

Just as Patricia finished with her hair, they heard a call from the door.

"Is anyone home?"

They looked to each other in surprise and leapt up, racing to the doorway. A tall, distinguished man of Asian ancestry stood in the doorway, tufts of gray at his temples.

"Dad!" shrieked Patricia.

She bolted to him and leapt into his arms, showering his face with kisses.

"I've missed you so much?"

"Missed me?" said Pax. "We talked just this morning on the vid screen."

"Not the same," insisted Patricia. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I wanted to surprise your mother here, and it looks like I did."

Kari was still speechless ad had to wipe away tears at seeing Pax. Her one-time lover had been an amazing housemate along with Kyriana. He had been a wonderful father and partner in all aspects. It had been one of the saddest days of her life when they'd been called away so Pax could oversea improvements and repairs on the other wheel arrays.

"Pax," she cried and ran to him.

He swept her up into an effusive hug and spun her around.

"You're looking younger than ever," he said with a grin.

"You're a horrible liar," she said, "and don't you dare say that. I've earned every one of my wrinkles, sags, and aches. Nothing wrong with getting old."

"I guess you're right," said Pax, "but you're still beautiful."

"Thank you, Pax."

She kissed him deeply and tenderly.

"Hey now, you wouldn't be trying to steal my lifemate away, would you?" said a voice in a fading Australian accent.

"Well, you know, I did have him first," said Kari as she pulled away.

More hugs and kisses were exchanged and though they longed to catch up more in person, it was time to depart for the great field.

The field she had planted for Pax had indeed fulfilled its promise. Countless soccer games, picnics, festivals, handfastings and weddings had taken place. Today was the most special day of all, the Spring Equinox, the renewal of life.

The others preceded her and she waited silently just out of sight for everyone to assemble. Gathering herself, she said a silent prayer, inviting the spirit in to find a place in her body. Beneath her arm, she held the scroll which Pax had made for her -- twenty years ago now.

Once ready, she stepped into view and the crowd grew hushed.

"The priestess" "Here comes the priestess," were the whispers which came from the young ones. Not that they shouldn't be awed. She knew how to carry herself, the goddess filled her with authority and she could feel herself almost float across the grassy field.

A young boy came scurrying up to her, his wide eyes glistening in wonder, his hands reaching out to feel the soft fabric of her dress.

"Hello, Yoskomo," she said, kneeling down to hug him. "Would you like to help me?"

He nodded, too awestruck to speak.

"Good, carry this for me."

He nodded solemnly, taking the scroll from her and walking before her with overwhelming pride. Other children leapt up and fell in behind her. None of this was planned. They had tried to stage the equinox ceremony in the past, but had found an impromptu formality was the best way to go.

Kari hadn't planned on becoming the spiritual leader of the wheels. In fact, she had merely wanted to serve in an advisory capacity. However, the phrase kept coming up "You should ask Kari" again and again, until the citizens came to her unanimously and told her she was their priestess and they would do as she advised.

The religion of the wheels was both a polytheistic approach, as well as intensely respectful. There were still private religions. Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, - there were still small groups who worshipped privately and would often consult with Kari when needed. As a society, they embraced the best of many theologies. All children were baptized, but in the name of the life-spirit, not of a specific deity. All youths were mitzvahed, welcomed down the path of adulthood. Kari's main hurdle had been to build a society of respect for all people, all beliefs.

Perhaps the most surprising development had been the growth in followers of Inanna. In truth, they weren't following the ancient beliefs of the goddess from Sumeria. Like so many deities, Inanna had morphed and comingled with the central idea of Gaia -- of mother earth. Inanna still represented fertility, but she had come to mean more to those who followed her on the wheel. She had come to mean Earth -- their celestial mother. Lately, she had even heard some of the younger people referring to their planet as Inanna. Kari walked gingerly around it, not wanting to put her own stamp on any of it -- but instead trying to guide the new sect as she did all of the other religions. She kept a gentle eye on them, and was sure to push them more toward the center whenever someone became to fervent or adamant in their beliefs at the risk of compromising others.

Once at the altar, Kari accepted the scroll from Yoskomo and stepped up, unfurling the papyrus and clearing her throat.

"We gather today, to celebrate Earth," she began. "On this day, in her Northern Hemisphere, she tips back toward the sun and the days begin growing longer. Life begins to stir anew. In the ancient days, this was a seasonal event -- but as we float here high above our mother planet, that renewal of life is even more important. As her last humans age and die childless, we are just beginning to thrive, to grow."