Celestial Brides

Chapter One

Jal Noridden stood on the view gallery of the starship Starfinder. He was heading for earth. The planets governing council with five of the founding war lords and leaders of their clans of Celestia, had insisted that he be the one to head to earth to retrieve the earth female. The council had been in contact with earth's space program for a few years now learning about their technology and the fact that earth's women were highly compatible with the Celestial warriors. Since then they and had written up a contract for earth to find females that could help repopulate Celestia, their negotiations had lasted six earth months with each side getting what they had bargained for. The council of the space federations and NASA had finally agreed upon a contract for one female from earth to begin with. Even the DNA was clear the two species were compatible. Celestial and Earth females would still need to live with the Celestial men for a year. If they should get pregnant, they would stay on Celestial until the child was born and the female could return to earth, leaving the youngling with the father.

It would be a trial to see if the two species could even procreate with each. This would be the first endeavor of its kind for the Celestials, might open the possibility for other brides from Earth to come to Celestia to ensure their planet's species would survive. It hadn't been a tough decision for the council to make in the face of the Celestials facing extinction. With no females to continue their lineage.

The one point of the contract that bugged Jal was that the council had insisted that he be the first one to take a bride, the council felt it would be a gesture of goodwill on his part for his warriors to see that he would be the first male to mate. They'd hope the other warriors would be less restricted about mating and see this as a positive thing, wanting the same thing for themselves. Jal had never thought that finding mates was a negative thing? But he understood his men's hesitation since it had been years without females.

The council of five wouldn't listen to reason, so here he was heading to the Nox spaceport where he would take the Phoenix, a space shuttle, that would take him to the Battleship Dragon star. While on the Dragon star, they jump through the wormhole and into the space around the earth, where NASA's Challenger space shuttle would transport him to the Johnson Space Center NASA base in Houston. He'd been told it would take a week for the journey.

Jal pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off a headache. Just thinking about all the spaceships, space jumps and hours, he would miss working his farm. Thank the gods he had his brothers to run the farm along with Koch. He still was not happy with the council's choice. They should have chosen his brother Axel or even Tavin. They didn't have as much responsibility as he did. Shaking his head, he placed the palm of his hands on his eyes. His head hurt just thinking about it. Not only did he have to worry about finding this Catrina Cartwright, but then he would have to mate with her. He did not know even how to go about that, since I had never mated before him and didn't know the first thing about how to go about it.

NASA had sent files to the council of five who then insisted that Jal read the downloaded files from earth to give him an idea of what to expect, but, never being off his planet, the files were still did not help his understanding. As a young male, he'd learned about the mating gland from his father, but knowing about glands gave him a reference to make love. Even the downloaded files were purely clinical. How was he supposed to feel? What if he didn't do it right? Damn, he was the Chieftain of Celestia, and he felt like a damn youngling.

Jal was a powerful leader, with a stronger personality. He had always been an honorable warrior who'd fought in many battles. He was a decorated warrior with many medals to show for the battles he'd fought alongside his father. Jal looked like he was only twenty earth years old, but on his planet, he was over eighty. During that time, an alien species had designed a virus and sent into the air of their planet, killing every female young and old. After losing his mother and watching his father die of grief, he knew then what his planet needed and was determined to do whatever it took for the Celestials to survive. His mind still worried, his skills were that of a warrior, not a mate, but somehow, he would make this matting work because it was what his planet and people needed. This was the focus of his goal for his planet. This major goal was to ensure that his race continued; he just wished it had been someone else the council chose.

Jal had read the bride contract over and over. One part of the bride contract was earth would give Celestia new weapons and better technology. When the council had proposed the bride contract, Jal had been researching weapons technology on other planets. He knew the technology would really benefit their ongoing war with the Juggernauts. The council had reassured him that as soon as he picked his mate up and returned, while he was on sabbatical, he could begin work on implementing his ideas into their military technology. The council had insisted thought his priority was to impregnate his bride. They had just jumped to earth's space, and they had informed Jal that the Challenger would meet them tomorrow if the weather held.

Unbuckling his safety belt, he stood, stretching. He met the ship's purser where the young female officer led him to his cabin to rest. By Jal's time, he'd been awake twenty-four hours. In his room, he undressed and lay on the bed. He wasn't sure if he could sleep. He worried he would be too aggressive with his new mate. How would she react to his aggressive behavior? Would she end up hating him? Gods and goddesses, he had a ton of questions finding no answers. He had always resented the council's authority, thinking they often overstepped their boundaries. Now here he was, submitting to the council's authority yet again.

His eyes grew heavy as he relaxed enough to fall into a deep sleep. He was dreaming; he felt so helpless. How could he help his people? Fighting in the war with the Juggernauts, he had been determined to end this war. He hoped in the ending he would figure out how to resolve Celestia's problem of no females for regeneration. The council had been in contact with earth's space program for a few years nows learning about their technology and the fact that earth's women were highly compatible with the Celestial warriors. Their DNA matched with the warriors making procreation possible. Their anatomy was similar and mating, with the men from Celestia could produce off springs that would ensure Celestia's future. "If their mating produced younglings"

In his dream, all he saw was failure. His failure, and he saw his world ending. No children, no mates, no people. He woke with a start, his face drenched in sweat. He rose from the bed and entered the cleansing chamber when he heard the knock on his door. "

Chieftain Jal Noridden, the Challenger will be here in thirty minutes." Jal thanked him and then went and showered, changing into a clean uniform.

Sitting inside one of the enormous dome on New Earth, which shielded the lower half of what used to be known as Texas, from the radiation, Houston housed the medical buildings, technology buildings and NASA Spaceport. After the humans had a nuclear war, it destroyed the land, water and much of the atmosphere. It had put the earth into an apocalyptic state. The scorched earth no longer grew vegetation, leaving earth to purchase their foods off world from other planets and species. The effect of the nuclear war was over a hundred years ago. People only survived because of the Cold War and the underground bunkers that saved a fraction of the earth's people, living underground until they could build the dome and cleanse the air inside. NASA had spent trillions of dollars with other planets to build the port that would allow NASA's shuttles to enter and exit the dome.

Jal had watched as the Challenger had entered the dome, nothing of the scorched earth outside the dome. Arriving at NASA's headquarters, he met the human part of the coalition, while there he would sign the contract between Celestia and Earth. Handing Jal another file on Catrina Cartwright that would tell him where she lived and how to get in touch with her. They had set him up in a hotel where he could stay until he and Catrina Cartwright left earth for his planet. NASA drove him to his hotel in downtown Houston. Exiting the car, he took his bags and entered the lobby of Mars Starlight Motel, taking him to his room, then leaving him to look around. He'd seen nothing like this on any planet he'd been, but that wasn't saying much since he rarely left Celestia unless they were at war.

In the first round of communication with NASA, they had sent a picture of his mate, Catrina Cartwright. He'd set his one suitcase on the where he sat opening it, removing the first file he'd received and adding the new file he just gotten. Taking her picture out of his leather bag, he'd looked at her picture now, not that he needed to refresh his memory. Jal had studied it for hours, getting lost in her soft blue eyes. She was a beautiful female, with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. Every chance he got, he took it from his leather pouch and studied her image. Even though he'd not been happy with the council's insistence that he retrieved her, bring to the planet, then mate with her, his one reward was at least she was beautiful.

Jal rested that night and the next morning finding the address of Catrina Cartwright's office. He left to go in search of the female he would soon mate. Outside, the city bustled with activity. The dome sat on four hundred sixty-nine square miles of land, having a population of three hundred thousand people; he had learned these facts from the earth files NASA had sent to Celestia. There were other domed cities on earth as well. These now housed and protected humans from the earth's sun and its harmful rays and the residual nuclear radiation.

After reading the earth files and seeing the devastation firsthand, Jal thought that earth could use Celestia's biologists who could help them to replenish the earth's resources in as few as a three hundred sixty-five earth cycles a year period. Look at the address to where Catrina was location, he left the hotel walking north. He looked at the funny covering on the dirt where people were walking took off, following others looking around as he went. He didn't think her location could be that far away from his hotel.

Everywhere he looked, there were odd shops with humans and other aliens milling about. He noticed there were shops for dry goods, produce and food vendors. In some ways, it reminded him of the open markets in the Capitol City of Narrac on Celestia. He continued his journey, studying each building, trying to find the medical building that NAASA had showed on the city map. They told him he would find Catrina Cartwright there.

He had been walking for what had seemed liked hours. Before he finally stopped at one of the food vendors, ordering a drink, he turned to find a table, sitting he looked around, taking a drink from his cup. Seeing an elderly woman who smiled at him, he started up a conversation with her. She reminded him of his mam. Putting his cup on the table, he bowed his head and smiled. "Madame."

"Hello young man, you are not from earth, are you?" She took him to note that he wore black and light blue uniform. The entire uniform was made of a soft black material, which clung to his muscular body. There were light blue stripes running over the material in a geometric patter. Smiling at him; she may be too old for him, but she wasn't too old for that. She couldn't appreciate his handsome figure. He wore knee-high boots on his feet. She smiled. He reminded her of her son, who was in the military space program.

"No madam, I am not. I am from the planet Celestia, and I am looking for a healer."

Pulling back slightly, she , "A healer? Are you sick, young man?" Worry furrowed her brows.

"Oh no, no, I just need to find one to ask some questions for the healers on our planet." He grinned at her.

Relaxing, she beamed at him. "Oh, well, in that case, the nearest medical facility is on Medical Lane, about four city blocks north of here. If you can wait, you can catch the public bus. It will drop you off right in front of the medical building." She continuing to grin at him.

"Thank you very much." He stood, then bowed to her. "Where do I go to find this bus?" Not sure what a bus was.

Pointing to the wide path covered with a strange material, and colored a deep yellow, he nodded his thanks. "Oh, you can catch it right there. Just stand there and they will stop for you."

"My thanks." Jal walked to the place, she had showed to him to wait for the strange conveyance called a bus to arrive. Standing there only a few minutes before it arrived. He stared at the hovering bus that was filled with people, some standing, some sitting, as it hovered over the odd-looking material that was on the ground. He watched as people disembarked, stepping down on a step that made reaching the ground easier. Jal stepped up on it, looking around the bus. It had bench like seats in rows. Twenty rows, with ten rows on each side, and a walkway between the seats.

The driver spoke, "Find a seat, please." Sitting on the bench nearest the front, he looked around in wonder at the strange individuals that were on the bus. It surprised him to find what a smooth ride this unusual conveyance had. Leaning forward, he spoke to the driver. "I need to find the medical building."

The driver nodded. "That's coming right up."

Seconds later, he was standing in front of a large dark azure glass building that looked like it reached to the dome ceiling. Now to find the healer, Catrina Cartwright. Inside of the building were stark white walls devoid of anything other than the white paint and a blue stripe dividing the wall from ceiling to floor. The floor was a white color, and the chairs were covered in white material as well, the only relief in the stark white color was the blue stripe on the wall diving top from bottom, the chrome on the chair legs and the transparent azure glass that separated smaller areas where people sat waiting.

He walked through one area to a set of double doors. Behind these, there was a cacophony of activity. People seemed busy rushing here and there. Jal stood back and watched in wonder at the sight of the people in front of him. He wondered who all these people were. Many of the others milling around were dressed in white, others wore colorful clothing. Wrinkling his nose, he thought how drab the ones in white were and determined they must be the healers. He much preferred the bright multi colors of their healers on Celestia. Standing here looking around would not help him find out where Catrina Cartwright was located. Seeing a human female sitting at a desk behind the blue transparent glass, he went to her. "Do you know the healer, Catrina Carrington?"

Looking up from her chart, the nurse eyed him wearily. "Who wants to know?" she inquired of him.

"My name is Jal, and I was told I could find her here. Is she here?"

"Yes, she is about to go off shift. Wait over there and I will tell her you are here for her." Nodding, he turned to the row of seats and sat in the first row, waiting. She watched him sit. She couldn't take her eyes off his tall, muscular frame. Wow, they sure don't make them like that here on earth. She mused to herself.

She swung the door open with her, as Catrina Cartwright came out of her office carrying her shoulder bag and her black medical bag. As the nurse intercepted her and told her she had a visitor, pointing at the man sitting in the chairs. Looking through the azure glass, CC, as her friends knew her, saw a handsome man sitting in the chair. "Who do you think he is? Did he say?"

"Wow. He's a stud." Wiggling her eyebrows and winking at the nurse, who stood beside her, who was taking him in as well. Opening the door, she walked toward him. "May I help you?" she held her hand out to him.

When he saw her, Jal rose to his feet as she walked toward him. Even more beautiful in person. He couldn't take his eyes off her as her hips swung from side to side. Jal let his eyes roam over her petite frame, which lent her grace and agility. Her hair was long and blonde as it hung down her back. His eyes trailed down her body, stopping on her breasts. They were full, well-rounded globes, accentuating her narrow waist.

His eyes continued down to her hips; they were rounded. He felt a stirring as he envisioned his hands massaging and squeezing those rounded hips. He looked up at her face. She had a radiant smile. Looking into her blue eyes, so wide that you could get lost in the depths of them. Looking down, he noted her clothing. She, too, was in this drab white clothing; he had been right in thinking the white clothing indicated a healer.

She offered him her hand, and he almost forgot to take it; he was so enthralled with her beauty. Seeing her hand, he remembered he read it was an earth custom; the handshake when people on earth would first meet. He took her hand in his and immediately forgot about the earth custom. He lifted her hand to his lips and kiss her palm.

Pulling her hand back, she looked at him and his boldness. "Do I know you?"

Bowing, "No my lady. I am Jal from Celestia, and we have a need for a healer to come to our planet." He thought if he mentioned a small lie that she would come with him to his planet.

Dawning came to CC knew who he was. She had been waiting for days for his arrival. She'd wondered how he was going to ask her to come to Celestia, now she knew. He used the pretense of needing a healer on his planet. He hadn't hesitated to tell her who he was and why she was needed. It certainly wasn't because they needed healers on Celestia,that was for sure. "Really? And how did you get my name?" she inquired, looking him in the eye.

He decided that a partial truth was better than a complete lie. "We contacted the earth's space federation. NASA, you call it. We told them we needed healers from other planets so we could learn of their procedures inorder to enhance ours. They said you were a healer, single, and could help us." Gods, he hated lying to her, but it had to work. She had to agree to come to the planet. He would make amends later.

Giving him the once over she studied him, she liked what she saw. She had been excited to take this deal because she had wanted to marry and have children. There weren't many men left on earth that could give you a child. With this assignment, she could have both besides helping his planet with their problem. It was an extra reward that she was an OB-GYN and could help in the future of Celestia, as other women came to help the dying warrior's planet. This was going to be an exciting adventure.

"Before I can leave with you, I need to make arrangements for my patients." She looked at him. "How much time do I have before we need to leave? How long will it take us to arrive at your planet?" making inquiries so fast Jal couldn't keep up with them. "Why do you need me? There are several older and wiser healers. The doctors here in the hospital are the most brilliant in the world."

"Um . . . well, all we have are male healers and our government wanted to get a unique perspective on medical technology. What type of healer are you?" he inquired tentatively.

"I am an OB-Gyn doctor specializing in the care of pregnant women before they get pregnant, and after. I get to deliver infants." She smiled at him as they rode the elevator to her floor.

"We need to leave immediately if that is all right with you? I wish I could spare more time, but our journey will be long enough as it is. It will take a week, standard earth time, to return to Celestia." Jal pointed out, then questioned, "You will go with me then?"

"Yes. I will go. Follow me to my office and I will turn my patients over to Dr. Maris."

He followed her to room 2410, where her office was located. Sitting at the desk, she waved her hand over the microcomputer and then used eye recognition to start the programs. "I'll send Dr. Maris an email letting him know I will be gone about . . . how long do you think I will be gone?" turning her attention to him.

"Our program requires you to be with us for a minimum of twelve of your standard earth months." He responded.

"Wow that long huh, well at least it will be an enjoyable experience for knowledge sharing between our two planets." Turning back to the computer, she spoke her message to Dr. Maris.

It took only minutes for Dr. Maris to answer CC. He would be happy to take her patients for a year and hoped her medical sabbatical would bring much needed information from Celestia.

Shutting the computer down, she stood. "We can go now. I need to stop by my apartment and get a bag of clothes, then we can leave for your ship."

They took a bus to her apartment building. Once there, it had taken her five minutes to put her entire life in a duffle bag and leave. Looking around the stark apartment one last time, she could not believe that she had lived there for four years. There was nothing of her in these bare rooms. She did not mind leaving. This had never really been her home, just a place where she slept occasionally. She spent more time at the hospital than she did here. Leaving was not that tragic for her. She owned little, and she had no family, no one who cared she lived or died, so to leave this life behind was a simple choice for her.

"I need to stop by the Mars Light Motel to retrieve my bag and then we will go to the spaceport to catch the shuttle tomorrow."

She was no stranger to arduous work and had asked no one for anything. She had had a hard life, but she blamed no one for her problems. As far as having friends, she didn't have time for them. Boyfriends please. CC was still a virgin and, knowing that this assignment would net her a mate and a baby, she had jumped at the chance. She knew what she wanted out of life and once her mind was set on the course; she followed it through to completion. Thus, she was the youngest woman to graduate from the medical arts study at twenty-four years old. Taking one last look, she shut the door and locked it, dropping the key off in the manager's office.

"Are you sad to leave your home?" Jal wanted to know.

"No, not at all. I have no family here, so no one will miss me. Let's go." She laughed at him, showing him the apartment building's outer door.

NASA had supplied them with a room until tomorrow's shuttle ride would take them to Dragon star. The next day, CC and Jal were placed aboard the shuttle and within the hour they were space bound. Sitting here in a row of seats aboard the Challenger headed to a strange new planet to exchange medical knowledge and to mate with this handsome alien Jal; CC was nervous yet excited. She knew why Jal was here. The Celestial council had contacted earth's space federation two years ago asking for volunteers. She had signed up immediately. That she was an OB-GYN doctor had decided even easier for her. She knew they wouldn't need her ability now, but when Celestials started bringing females from earth to mate with their warriors, they would need her skills then. Jal sat beside her and when she laid her arm on the armrest, he wanted to reach and take her hand. "How long to the next ship?" she uttered.

She must have fallen asleep. CC had worked a double shift for a friend last night and hadn't slept in twenty-four hours. She felt the bump of the ship docking with the other ship and roused. Jal was sleeping as well, and she took the moment to look at him. He was tall, so much taller than earthmen, he was tall at least six feet and eight inches, next to her five feet five inches.

His chest was wide and muscled. He had large hands that were strong. She blushed as she thought of him naked. Wondered what he looked like beneath that uniform. God, she was nervous. Smiling when the young air force flyer told them they could depart the Challenger. This was going to be a great new adventure.

Once on board the Battleship Dragon star, a warrior came and led them to their room. "I am sorry, sir, we had to combine your rooms. We are over booked and need the extra room for two other passengers."

Jal swallowed hard. "Thundering. Damn man, you have no accommodations, not even in your warriors' quarters?" he blustered. Not that he didn't want to sleep with her, he was afraid that she would be upset about having to share a room with him.

She noticed his cheeks had turned slightly red. "Jal, I don't mind sharing a room with you." she stuck her head in the room and looked around. It was a pleasant room for a passenger cargo craft. She turned to the young warrior and smiled. "We'll take it." She took her bag and entered the room. It was large and roomy. Placing her bag on the floor, exploring the rooms. The